In this project, Dr Demi Gao at the Bionics Institute, Australia, seeks to improve how clinicians can assess hearing in babies with profound hearing loss, and improve their experience in using cochlear implants to support their development.
Project start date: March 2024
Project end date: March 2025
About the project
Infants (babies and toddlers) with severe to profound hearing loss are offered cochlear implants to give them access to sound and a sensation of hearing. It is currently difficult for audiologists to accurately programme cochlear implants for infants as they lack reliable information about how well the child can hear with their implant.
This creates a high risk that infants are not getting the best outcomes from their implant early enough in life, impacting their speech and language development.
Dr Demi Gao and her team of researchers are looking to improve how clinicians can assess infants’ hearing to ensure their development isn’t impacted through cochlear implants that aren’t set to the right levels.
How it works
The researchers will use a brain imaging technique called Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) to assess hearing in babies. They will collect precise information about the babies’ hearing threshold levels (the quietest sounds they can hear) and highest comfortable loudness levels with their cochlear implants within the first months of their life.
The baby-friendly test uses near-infrared light to measure the brain’s response to sound and the tests are performed while the baby sleeps.
How will this research benefit people with cochlear implants?
If successful, the test will enable audiologists to identify hearing issues and tailor cochlear implants for each child accurately from the very start of their life to give them the best possible hearing outcomes.
About the researcher
Dr Demi Gao is a Senior Research Scientist at the Bionics Institute and a Passe and Williams Foundation Mid-Career Fellow. She was awarded an RNID Innovation Seed Fund grant for this project in 2024.
Seeing people communicate smoothly with cochlear implants motivates me to further improve the lives of people who have hearing loss. The ultimate goal of my research is to develop a clinical viable tool for objective hearing assessment and personalised cochlear implant programming.”
