An Australian study aims to investigate facilitators and barriers to effective listening and acceptance of hearing devices in children with single-sided deafness (SSD).
Researchers are calling for audiologists to help recruit adolescents with unilateral hearing loss for the study. It aims to co-design a management program with the teens to encourage use of hearing aids or cochlear implants.
The collaborative research by Flinders University and the audiology services team at the Women’s and Children’s Health Network, South Australia, starts in January 2026 and continues throughout 2027.
The Channel 7 Children’s Research Foundation has allocated just under $100,000 to help fund the study.
Professor Mridula Sharma, professor of audiology and academic lead in Flinders University’s College of Nursing & Health Sciences, said the project was entitled, ‘The good ear, the bad ear, and the device’.
“Adolescents with one good ear struggle in noisy environments as two ears are essential for effective listening,” she said.
“Despite the benefits of the hearing devices, adolescents with only one good ear often don’t wear their device. This research investigates their listening skills in noise with the aim to co-design a management program.”
She said the research aimed to improve health, education, and welfare for Australian adolescents with single-sided deafness.
Bridge the gap in services
Prof Sharma said that due to the absence of binaural advantage, these adolescents struggled in noise, leading to fatigue, and poor quality of life.
“By co-designing management strategies with the adolescents, we will bridge the current gap in clinical services,” she said.
“We are aiming to understand what are the barriers or challenges that the teens face when it comes to them using their device – hearing aid or cochlear implant, why do they use it and why don’t they want to use it.
“We are not training them – the teens have the devices and intervention available to them; we want to know why they think these are not necessary for them.
“We think some prefer to use the devices, while others reject them or prefer not to use them.”
Other researchers are audiologists Ms Cindy Maples, Ms Lisa Callahan and Ms Sarah Walker from the Women’s and Children’s Health Network SA, and Dr Karen Sparrow from Flinders University.
Dr Sharma said they wanted to enrol 80 teenagers aged eight to 16 with single-sided deafness who wearing a hearing aid or cochlear implant, or who are not wearing either.
She said audiologists could email her on mridula.sharma@flinders.edu.au and she would share the survey details for any interested clients.
