PhD opportunities - British Academy of Audiology |British Academy of Audiology

HEALTH SCIENCE: FULLY FUNDED SWANSEA UNIVERSITY PHD: AN INVESTIGATION OF MODERN TECHNOLOGY IN HEARING AIDS: THE BENEFITS OF BINAURAL BEAMFORMING TO SPATIAL HEARING (RS367)

The Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Science is pleased to offer a fully-funded scholarship for a full-time doctoral student, commencing in October 2023.

The scholarship includes tuition fees and a stipend – reviewed annually at the UKRI standard rate – and a £1,000 annual training allowance to support immersive training experiences, conference attendance, engagement with industry and international collaborative opportunities. The scholarship is offered for a maximum period of three years. Students are expected to submit their theses within this timescale.

Investigating the positive and negative effects of noise exposure: increased toughening of the ears vs. increased risk of hearing damage

This project aims to explore the different effects that noise exposure can have on our hearing, from early childhood up until older age, while also accounting for factors such as cognitive and auditory processing skills. The project will involve a variety of different experimental methods including questionnaires and interviews, auditory psychophysical testing, clinical audiological measures, cognitive testing and electrophysiology.

How do deaf babies learn to communicate? A comparison of parent-infant interaction in Deaf and hearing families

Good early communication skills from an important foundation for children’s later education and social interactions. Infant deafness often creates significant barriers in learning these skills. Compared to hearing infants with hearing parents, deaf infants with hearing parents (who have little prior deaf awareness) are at significant risk of delay in early communication.

Hearing words in a sea of noise: Does musical training and second language learning help?

Perceiving speech in the presence of background noise (speech-in-noise, or SIN), as is the case in most real-world listening situations, is challenging. This is particularly true for older adults, who, due to these difficulties may find themselves more socially isolated and withdrawn, leading to a poorer quality of life. Some kinds of experience (training) may give some protection against age-related hearing decline for older adults. This project will investigate two possibilities: musical training, and 2nd language learning.

Noise induced hidden hearing loss in young adults

Many patients who visit audiological clinics and complain of difficulty listening in acoustically challenging environments do not show abnormalities on audiological tests. Hence patients do not receive proper treatments and are often left frustrated and isolated when their environments are no longer listening-friendly. Recent animal studies show that noise exposure at sublimit levels may selectively damage part of the auditory system without necessarily impacting audiometric thresholds.