Research projects that need your involvement

Are you an audiologist with experience working on an National Institute of Health and Social Care Research (NIHR) audiology-related portfolio study?  If so, we would like to interview you for a study conducted by UCL Ear Institute. NIHR portfolio studies include studies like COACH, BEARS, FAMOUS, CAVA. This project aims to explore the barriers and facilitators of taking part in research in the UK, specifically the experiences within the context of NIHR portfolio studies.  

This project is part of an MSc project being conducted by the UCL Ear Institute, and it has been reviewed and approved by UCL Research Ethics Committee 18225/002  

Please click here for more information and to register your interest in our study  

Thank you for your help. 

Best wishes,  

Hei Yung Tang, Bhavisha Parmar, Hannah Cooper and Amanda Hall 

UCL Ear Institute, Aston University 

IRAS Project ID: 334689

Name of Chief Investigator: Kathryn Fackrell, PhD, Senior Research Fellow
Co-investigator: Laura Edwards, PhD, Clinical Associate Professor
Lead Researcher(s): Kübra Bölükbaş, PhD student

Dear Participant,

We are reaching out to invite you to participate in our research focused on establishing a standard test battery for audiological assessment in adults who have experienced auditory and/or vestibular impairment following a non-blast-related Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).

About the Study:
This Delphi study aims to bring together audiologists who are currently employed by a public or private institution with specific experience with traumatic brain injury (TBI) to collectively define and establish a consensus on a standard test battery for audiological assessments in this specific patient group. We believe that your valuable insights and experiences can significantly contribute to this important undertaking.

• We will perform an online Delphi survey including three survey rounds with intervals, first round lasts up to 40 minutes.
• Participants will need to attend three

How to Participate:

Each round will be delivered online via the University of Nottingham survey software JISC (https://www.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/). Participants will be offered £20 Amazon gift vouchers for taking part in the survey.

Anyone who agrees to take part can still withdraw from the study at any time if they do not want to continue and they do not have to give their reasons for withdrawing.

For further details on study, please read through the attached information sheet version number 2.0 dated 03.04.2024.

If you are interested in taking part or if you have any questions, please contact Kübra Bölükbaş or if you know of anyone who might be interested, please ask them to get in touch with Kübra Bölükbaş; kubra.bolukbas@nottingham.ac.uk. Your involvement is invaluable, and we appreciate your consideration.

Kubra Bolukbas
PhD Student
Hearing Sciences

Further information sheets:

INFO SHEET AudioVestTestsforTBI-Part 1 v2.0 date 03.04.2024

CLINIC POSTER AudioVestTestsforTBI-Part 1 v2.0 date 03.04.2024

INTEGRATE is pleased to launch a national retrospective multicentre audit of current tinnitus pathways in the UK. This is an exciting opportunity to be involved in impactful, collaborative multi-centre research.

WHO?
This audit has been developed by INTEGRATE (The UK ENT Trainee Research Network) Otology subcommittee.

WHY?
Tinnitus is a common condition that can be difficult to manage clinically. Patients and clinicians can often be dissatisfied with current care pathways, and there can be wide variability in how patients are managed. We would like to gain insights into how patients with tinnitus are managed in the UK currently, in order to use this information to help both clinicians and patients get the most out of their care.

WHAT?
We need ENT, Audiology and Audiovestibular Medicine representatives from UK centres caring for patients with tinnitus. We ask you to submit data on the diagnostic pathway, management, and outcomes for patients presenting to your service. Full instructions and links to all the study documents can be found on the INTEGRATE website here. We will also be asking that a representative from each MDT completes a survey about their MDT.

Each centre can have a maximum of one local Site Lead and one Consultant, plus a maximum of ONE Collaborator within your department. Additional team members can be involved if you are collaborating across ENT / Audiology / Audiovestibular Medicine departments within your hospital, and this will be confirmed with the INTEGRATE team. Site Leads, Consultants and Collaborators will be acknowledged on all subsequent presentations and publications (as per INTEGRATE term of reference).

HOW?
To register and collaborate on this study, please complete the registration form (so we can stay in touch) and then follow instructions here. If you are a trainee-grade, we recommend that you get support from your consultant prior to registering. The data submission window is now open, and will close on 1st July 2024.

We very much look forward to collaborating with you on this study!

With best wishes,

INTEGRATE Otology subspecialty committee

We are conducting a study to better understand clinical practices around giving hearing aid patients advice about communication strategies. We are also interested in better understanding how effective this is in improving communication in the real world.

We are looking for practising audiologists who provide adult hearing rehabilitation, who are willing to complete a short online survey about their communication strategies counselling in the clinic.

The study will involve you completing an online questionnaire that will take no more than 15 minutes to fill in.

If you are interested in taking part or would like more information, please click here:

https://www.qualtrics.manchester.ac.uk/jfe/form/SV_0P94p2pEBjyXu74

or email gemma.perfect@manchester.ac.uk

Thank you

This study has been approved by the University of Manchester Proportionate Ethics Committee Ref. 2024-19466-33834

Hyperacusis research lead: Nighat Kalsoom.

This research is funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and Health Education England (HEE).

Objectives: Hyperacusis is a hearing disorder characterised by a reduced tolerance or increased sensitivity to sound(s) that are perceived as normal to the majority of the population or were perceived as normal to the person before their onset of hyperacusis. The aim of this online national survey is to better understand current hyperacusis sound therapy intervention use across England in the adult population. The objectives are to establish how sound therapy intervention varies across the UK, to gather audiologists’ views on current use of sound therapy intervention and develop a standardised guideline for clinicians.

Instructions: Our survey contains 13 questions.

This questionnaire survey is aimed at adult-based audiologists only where treatment is related to adult patients (>18 years of age). Please answer all the questions below to your fullest knowledge and with honesty. All questionnaires are anonymous, and all responses will only be viewed by the above researcher. The survey findings will be summarised and disseminated.

Complete the survey here: Survey link

We would like to understand what healthcare practitioners know about deaf blindness/dual sensory impairment/multisensory impairment and how they change their practice to support children and young people with combined hearing and vision difficulties.

We would be extremely grateful if you could take a moment to complete this anonymous survey. You will be asked to answer questions on your awareness of deaf blindness/dual sensory impairment/multisensory impairment and how accessible your services are for people with combined hearing and vision difficulties.

Eligibility:  Any healthcare professionals (NHS, private sector or General Ophthalmic Service) in the UK.

Time requirements: Approximately 15 minutes.

Confidentiality: No personal information is collected and your participation is anonymous. All information from your participation in this research will be collected and stored in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR, 2018).

Your rights:  Participation in this study is voluntary and deciding not to participate will not affect you in any way.

For any questions:  This study is being conducted by Dr Saima Rajasingam & Dr Eldre Beukes at Anglia Ruskin University in collaboration with Dr Peter Simcock at Birmingham City University. For any questions please contact saima.rajasingam@aru.ac.uk.

Ethical Approval:  Faculty Research Ethics Panel of Anglia Ruskin University (FREP/SREP number: ETH2122-0807)

Survey link: https://aruspsych.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_23M3R1dTl04yyIm

Aston University Student, Charlotte White, is currently recruiting audiologists for a masters project as part of the Scientist Training Programme. The title is ‘Exploring the future of remote care for adults with hearing aids within the UK’.

The aim of the study to gather a range of audiology clinicians’ perspectives and views on remote fine tuning of hearing aids. By obtaining data on the current views and experiences of remote fine tuning, the aim is to use this to build knowledge of the current landscape and inform future use of remote fine tuning. If this study can enable remote fine tuning to be used more successfully, patients can receive greater access to care.   To this end, as an audiologist who has experience fitting hearing aids to adults within the NHS, we would like to invite you to an online semi-structured interview lasting approximately 45 minutes. As we want to gather a range of perspectives, we are looking for clinicians either with OR without experience in remote fine tuning.

If you wish to take part or have any questions, please email Charlotte at 210271878@aston.ac.uk

Patient information sheet

Consent form

We are looking for audiologists in the United Kingdom to participate in a survey to investigate the attitudes of audiologists towards teleaudiology. Your feedback is essential to identifying teleaudiology service barriers and facilitators and enhancing patient access to hearing healthcare.

To take part, you must:

● Be a registered audiologist with a full license to work in the UK without any restrictions in practice.

Teleaudiology is a way to provide hearing care services remotely. Despite the potential benefits of teleaudiology, its adoption by audiologists has been unexplored, so it is necessary to better understand the attitudes of audiologists towards this emerging technology. By participating in this survey, you can help us determine the elements that affect audiologists’ attitudes towards teleaudiology, and provide information for the progress of teleaudiology services.

The study would be conducted at the University of Manchester, United Kingdom. You will be asked to complete the questionnaire, which consists of four sections. The survey would take approximately 20 minutes to complete.

Please follow the link below to participate in the survey:

Click here to find out more or scan the QR code

We would like to invite you to participate in a study conducted by the UCL Ear Institute. We are aiming to explore what paediatric audiologists in the UK currently do to validate hearing aid fittings in children with unilateral hearing loss including the challenges and barriers they face.

Are you a paediatric audiologist working with children in the UK? If so, please participate in our anonymous survey exploring your practices for fitting and validating hearing aids for children with unilateral hearing loss. You can also leave your email address to enter a prize draw to win a £50 shopping voucher.

This project is part of an MSc project being conducted by the UCL Ear Institute, and it has been reviewed and approved by UCL Research Ethics Committee (12585/011).

The link to the survey is here: https://qualtrics.ucl.ac.uk/jfe/form/SV_ezYu35NfeOByAIe

Thank you for your help.

Best wishes,

Aanisah Razaq, Hannah Cooper, Amanda Hall and Marsha Jenkins

UCL Ear Institute

A team from the University of Nottingham is looking for parents to take part in an interview  or complete an online questionnaire about their children’s experiences of sound-sensitivity (hyperacusis). The data will be used to develop a child-tailored measure of hyperacusis to support clinicians and enable future research trials on treatments. Can you help by sharing this with parents?

Click here: University of Nottingham Research Survey