// Latest Posts

Sound-sensitivity in children

Is your child sensitive to sound? Please help us test a new clinical questionnaire. What is sound-sensitivity? Sound-sensitivity (also known as hyperacusis) is common in children. It is where they experience distress or pain when hearing some everyday sounds. For example, they may struggle with the normal sounds present at home (e.g. hoover) and outside …

Dementia and hearing aids, again: the ACHIEVE trial

The results of the ACHIEVE trial of hearing interventions aimed at helping cognition in older people are very welcome. This is a really important piece of research and will have implications for patients, clinicians and researchers. As a hearing aid user myself, I am personally very interested in this topic. The background is that hearing …

The humble hearing aid versus Giant Dementia

The Lancet Commission reports published in 2017 and 2021 have highlighted hearing loss as a major risk factor for dementia, suggesting that hearing loss from midlife onwards is responsible for about 8% of the potentially modifiable risk of dementia. Therefore, potentially, eliminating the problem could prevent 8% of future cases of dementia. This would be …

Roger and out? Further reflections on wireless microphones

Roger happens to be the name of a series of wireless microphones designed to augment the effects of hearing aids. As I mentioned in an earlier blog (Hearing aids and beyond… – Hearing Matters (nottingham.ac.uk), these devices come in different shapes and sizes according to the intended purpose. This blog is to present a personal …

Hearing aids and beyond…

I wrote a few months ago about my initial acceptance of having hearing loss and the experience of acquiring hearing aids (Tom Dening: Hearing aids and cognitive impairment – Challenging Stigma and Promoting Personhood (lancs.ac.uk)). Since then, things have moved on somewhat, causing me to reflect on what is available to help people optimise their …

Hyperacusis in children

Is your child sensitive to sound (called hyperacusis) Or are you a clinician who works with children who are sensitive to sound?   WE HAVE COMPLETED THIS PART OF THE STUDY WITH CLINICIANS. WE ARE NOW RECRUITING PARENTS AND HAVE A NEW POST ON 24 JANUARY 2023 TO EXPLAIN.   Please help us in designing …

COVID and hearing – please help us

Have you had COVID before? Do you feel this has affected your hearing and balance or had no effect at all? Seventeen more volunteers needed to complete our study on COVID and hearing! Could you be one of them?   It is two years to the day since the first national UK COVID lockdown was …

Patients and public leading at the crossover of mental health and hearing

Hearing and mental health overlap For what remain as ‘hidden’ disabilities, hearing and mental health conditions are incredibly common: 1.6 billion people live with hearing loss, while 792 million people are affected by mental health issues. Despite their prevalence, social stigma is attached to both and there is little public understanding of their impact. Also, …