Results of a five-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 latest issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Audiology (Volume 24). The study adapted a series of cutting edge 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 what is offered by even 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, Ph.D., Vice President, Audiology & Professional Relations for Oticon, Inc., who worked with Walter Read researchers to secure the $3 million grant. “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, Ph.D., 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, Maryland as well as researchers at the National Center for Rehabilitative Auditory Research (NCRAR) in Portland, Oregon.
To read the special issue on the study findings, visit the Journal of the American Academy of Audiology at https://www.audiology.org/resources/journal/. You can learn more about Oticon by visiting the Oticon Expo Page on AudiologyOnline.
