Lecturer in the Audiology and Deafness Research Group

Trustee of the British Society of Audiology

Chair of the British Society of Audiology Special Interest Group for Cognition in Hearing

Editorial board member of the Journal of Audiology & Otology

My background is in experimental psychology. I am interested in the cognitive aspects of hearing, and my research interests include hearing loss, auditory processing and developmental psychology from childhood to old age, auditory plasticity, hearing genetics and developmental disorders. I was a 2013-2014 US-UK Fulbright scholar, and was awarded the British Society of Audiology's Thomas Simm Littler Prize in 2014 for my work on the epidemiology of hearing loss and acclimatization to hearing aids. 
 

My research interests include the epidemiology of hearing loss, dementia, hearing genetics, treatments for hearing loss including hearing aid uptake and hearing aid benefit, and the impact of hearing loss and auditory processing impairments on development and quality of life in childhood and old age.

Current research projects 

• Ears, Eyes and Mind: The ‘SENSE-Cog Project’ to improve mental well-being for elderly Europeans with sensory impairment (EC Horizon 2020; 2016-2020)
• Time to face the music: Addressing hearing health in future professional musicians (Colt Foundation; 2016-2019)
• Adjusting to a new power hearing aid (Oticon A/G; 2015-2016)
• Health psychology approaches to hearing aid uptake (Phonak; 2015-2017)

Doctoral students

• Harry Taylor (2016-) "Understanding and addressing hearing health inequality in ethnic minority groups in the UK"
• Afzarini Hasnita (2016-)  “Patient centered practice in audiology”
• Chelsea Sawyer (2015-)  “Health psychology approaches to hearing aid uptake”
• Sara Al-Hambali (2014-)  “Listening effort and fatigue in people with hearing impairment”
• Ronan McGarrigle (2013-2015)  “Objective assessment of listening effort in children”

Module tutor

HCDI Introductin to Health Care Science

Dissertation project supervisor

PSYC64003 Dissertation for MSc Audiology 

PSYC61616 Dissertation for MSc Clinical Science 

Lecturer/assessor

HCDI Audiology research project

HCDI 10000 Professional studies I 

HCDI 20000 Professional studies II 

HCDI 10080 Clinical placement and practical skills I

PSYC62100 Clinical Applications of Neurosensory Science for MSc Clinical Science 

HCDI 21300 Clinical placement and practical skills II 

HCDI 31000 Advanced and specialist hearing aids

Professor Dave Moore, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Centre

Professor Heather Fortnum, Nottingham Biomedical Research Unit in Hearing

Professor Karen Cruickshanks, University of Wisconsin

Professor Kevin Munro, Manchester University

Professor Cynthia Morton, Harvard University

Professor Chris Armitage, Manchester University

Dr Iracema Leroi, Manchester University

Professor Neil Pendleton, Manchester University

Dr Tony Payton, Manchester University

Professor Jane Ginsborg, Royal Northern College of Music

Dr Ariane Leplante-Levesque, Eriksholm Research Centre

Dr Sridhar Kalluri, Starkey Hearing Research Centre

Dr Gurjit Singh, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute and Senior Research Audiologist at Phonak AG

British Society of Audiology

British Academy of Audiology

Cert. IV Music, Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts

BSc (hons) Speech and Hearing Science, Curtin University, Western Australia

DPhil (experimental psychology), Oxon.

I am very active in outreach and public engagement. I regularly disseminate research via a variety of media (including television, radio, newspaper, magazine, blog and twitter) to a variety of audiences (including doctors, audiologists, the general public and high school students). Via the SENSE-Cog project, I am working with NOWGen to develop a European network of charities, users, carers and professionals all interested in understanding the interaction between sensory and cognitive health. This will help to increase awareness of the need to correctly assess, detect early and manage mixed sensory and cognitive impairment. This network will be able to lobby for further funding for research, training and education and awareness raising. The network will help to work towards an EU that is ‘sensory-cognitive friendly’.