Population and health
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  5. Our research projects
  6. Population and health

Addressing the impacts of adult-onset hearing loss

Our research aims to bring a public health lens to hearing research in order to better understand how hearing problems affect health and social outcomes.

Learn more about the projects we are undertaking in this area and the research teams involved.

The Australian Eye and Ear Health Survey (AEEHS)

Funded by: The Martin Lee Centre for Innovations in Hearing Health

The Australian Eye and Ear Health Survey (AEEHS) will examine close to 5000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Aboriginal Australians over a period of two years.

The study follows the National Eye Health Survey conducted in 2015–16 and aims to establish a time series for the purposes of trend analysis in changes in eye diseases.

The survey is a cross-sectional study across 30 nation-wide sites, intended to document the prevalence of vision and hearing impairment among:

  • 1750 Indigenous Australians
  • 3250 non-Indigenous Australians.

The hearing component of the study is likely to:

  • fulfil several of the key priorities and actions outlined in Australian Government’s Roadmap for Hearing Health
  • inform the development of a national database on hearing loss
  • facilitate the standardised national reporting of hearing loss
  • assist in the development of a national set of key performance indicators for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ear and hearing health.
AEEHS investigators
AEEHS support staff
  • Miss Shanelle Sorbello (Project Manager) – The Westmead Institute for Medical Research
  • Miss Alemka Davis (Aboriginal Project Officer) – Brien Holden Foundation
  • Mr Rhys Smith (Aboriginal Project Officer) – Macquarie University
  • Dr Diana Tang (Research Fellow) – Macquarie University
  • Dr Vu Do (Research Fellow) – The Westmead Institute for Medical Research.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Committee members
  • Associate Professor Kristopher Rallah-Baker
  • Lauren Hutchison – Aboriginal Optometrist, Consultant, Brien Holden Foundation
  • Nicole Turner – Chairperson, Indigenous Allied Health Australia
  • Shaun Tatipata – Owner of Deadly Enterprises, Consultant, Indigenous Eye Health
  • Dr Leanne Holt – Pro-Vice Chancellor (Indigenous Strategy) and Adjunct Academic Fellow, Macquarie University
  • Kim Gates – Executive Manager of Public Health and Continuous Quality Improvement, ACHWA
  • Sowmya Rao – Wide Ear Health Coordinator, VACCHO
  • Chris Rektsinis – Eye Health Project Officer, ACHSA
  • Samantha Harkus – Principal Audiologist, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Services, Hearing Australia
  • Carla Puca – Eye Health Program Officer, AHCWA
  • Sharon Hill – Assistant Director Chronic Disease Section, Department of Health
  • Jess Styles – Director, Programs NACCHO
  • Professor Catherine McMahon – Head of Department of Linguistics, Director HEAR Centre, Macquarie University.

Contact: bamini.gopinath@mq.edu.au

Learn more about the AEEHS team.

Data analytics for better hearing health care

Full title: Hearing Impairment Data Infrastructure (HEIDI) Study: Data analytics for better hearing health care

Funded by: Cochlear – Macquarie University Joint Research Fund

HEIDI aims to be a national data resource with the potential to change the course of adult-onset hearing loss. Data gathered in the study will be used to reveal a better picture of how hearing-impaired adults navigate the hearing care pathway.

The project aims to:

  • generate a centralised repository of heterogeneous datasets providing a comprehensive view of the hearing-impaired patients’ journey
  • create decision-support tools that can be integrated into the general practice workflow to motivate GPs and patients to address hearing health.

Contact: yvonne.tran@mq.edu.au

Profiling hearing loss among cochlear implant recipients

Funded by: Cochlear – Macquarie University Joint Research Fund

We aim to profile hearing loss through uncovering complex structures and relationships hidden within data using specialised statistical modelling.

The project aims to:

  • identify the characteristics for hearing loss profiles
  • characterise each cochlear implant recipient’s membership in the different hearing loss profiles
  • determine whether certain profiles are associated with and affect the long-term outcomes of cochlear implants.

Contact: yvonne.tran@mq.edu.au

Adult recipients of cochlear implants (ARCHS)

Funded by: Cochlear – Macquarie University Joint Research Fund

The research will examine the life trajectories of adults with a cochlear implant up to 10 years after their implant, consider the nexus of health, social and environmental factors and their influence on outcomes.

ARCHS aims to:

  • identify the number, characteristics and treatment cost of hospital admissions for adults who have received a cochlear implant
  • examine the health service use of younger (18 to 64 years) and older adults (65 years and above) who have received a cochlear implant
  • compare health outcomes for younger and older adults who received a cochlear implant.
  • Isabelle Boisvert
  • Dr Reidar Lystad
  • Dr Anne McMaugh
  • Robyn Cantle Moore – NextSense Institute
  • Dr Tolesa Okuba
  • Dr Ramya Walsan

Contact: r.mitchell@mq.edu.au

Developing a new quality of life measure for hearing impairment

Funded by: Cochlear – Macquarie University Joint Research Fund

The EQ-5D is one of the most popular instruments to measure health-related quality of life (HRQoL), but it has been criticised for failing to capture important aspects of health, including hearing capability.

This project:

  • investigates what constructs the HRQoL of adults with hearing impairment
  • develops the hearing “bolt-on” items to the EQ-5D-5L instrument.

Contact: yuanyuan.gu@mq.edu.au