Communication behaviour and hearing loss
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A large-scale study on understanding and alleviating hearing disability: A cognitive-behavioural model of miscommunication in everyday conversation
IRAS ID
320079
Contact name
Graham Naylor
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Research and Innovation, University of Nottingham
Duration of Study in the UK
4 years, 4 months, 30 days
Research summary
By 2050 there will be 2.5 billion people worldwide with hearing loss, mostly of older age. Untreated hearing loss is linked to greater cognitive decline with age, possibly because of the role hearing loss plays in social isolation. Difficulty engaging in conversation is the most often-reported problem of hearing loss, but currently treatment with hearing aids does not adequately fix this. There is a clear and unmet need for understanding why and how older adults with hearing loss experience problems in conversation. With such understanding, better treatments will become possible, improving the social participation of people with hearing loss. In this programme we will develop an in-depth explanation of how miscommunications happen in everyday conversation, and how people behave in response to them. At the centre of this programme is a conceptual ‘model’ linking hearing loss itself to social consequences through a chain of explanatory mechanisms. To create such a model, we will apply multiple approaches, all relying on natural conversation, to illuminate key aspects in different ways. We will map out the scope and emotional cost of miscommunication through in-depth interviews and surveys. We will quantify the occurrences and effects of miscommunication in the real world through novel mobile assessment techniques. We will identify the specific patterns of behaviour that lead to and follow from miscommunication through state-of-the-art laboratory measurements. We will test under what time constraints miscommunication happens. The model will combine all these insights to span perceptual, mental, behavioural and emotional aspects of miscommunication. The in-depth understanding provided by this model will inspire novel, personalised hearing rehabilitations and technologies to support problem-free communication. By so doing, it will advance the maintenance of social engagement in an ageing population, improving mental health, employment prospects, and quality of life for millions of older adults.
REC name
North East - Newcastle & North Tyneside 2 Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
23/NE/0071
Date of REC Opinion
5 May 2023
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion