Results of a 5-year auditory research project, conducted by researchers at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and funded with a $3 million grant from the Oticon Foundation, have been published in the April 2013 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Audiology.
The study adapted a series of new models of normal auditory processing to account for the individualized effects of sensorineural hearing loss. The immediate goal was to verify adaptations that will lead to advanced signal processing strategies that provide benefit well beyond the most advanced current generation of digital hearing devices.
“This was a significant investment by the Oticon Foundation to support research that will make a real difference to patients,” said Don Schum, PhD, vice president, audiology and professional relations for Oticon Inc. “The prominent group of research scientists involved in this study have an extreme focus to move beyond only psychoacoustic descriptions of the nature of hearing loss. They want to push actively toward developing general signal processing approaches with the potential to ‘reverse engineer’ sensorineural hearing loss.”
The study was led by Ken W. Grant, PhD, director, scientific and clinical studies, Audiology and Speech Center, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, and involved the efforts of scientists at Walter Reed in Bethesda, Md, as well as researchers at the National Center for Rehabilitative Auditory Research (NCRAR) in Portland, Ore.
The entire April 2013 issue was dedicated to auditory processing. To read the special issue on the study findings, visit the Journal of the American Academy of Audiology at www.audiology.org/resources/journal. (J Am Acad Audiol. 2013;24(4):252-3. doi: 10.3766/jaaa.24.4.1.)
SOURCE: Oticon Foundation
