Research and projects

The ENHANCE study (ExploriNg tHe Auditory Needs and Challenges in autistic childrEn and teenagers) aims to improve our understanding of how auditory speech perception difficulties affect autistic children and teenagers in everyday environments. These difficulties can have a major impact on communication, social interaction, learning, and mental wellbeing, yet they are often failed to be recognised and thus supported.

The outcome of this research is to co-develop a diagnostic intervention that will help to effectively address auditory challenges in autistic children, particularly those related to understanding speech in noisy or complex listening environments.   

The project is currently being developed as a doctoral research project.

Links:

Systematic review protocol

Each year, around 15,000 people in the UK experience a sudden loss of hearing. In the majority of cases seen by the NHS, no clear cause is identified, even after investigation, leading to a diagnosis of idiopathic sudden onset sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL). Current treatments for idiopathic SSNHL primarily involve steroids, though their effectiveness remains uncertain.

The SeaSHeL (Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss) study is a UK-wide prospective cohort research project that aims to improve understanding and treatment of idiopathic SSNHL.

Objectives

The SeaSHeL study has three primary goals:

1. Mapping Patient Pathways: To document the journey of patients presenting with SSNHL within NHS ENT and audiology services, identifying their characteristics and treatment pathways.

2. Developing a Prognostic Model: To create a model that can predict recovery outcomes for patients with idiopathic SSNHL.

3. Assessing Quality of Life Impact: To evaluate how SSNHL affects patients' quality of life.
   
   

The study collects data from over 100 NHS trusts across the UK, involving ENT specialists and audiologists who identify patients with SSNHL and submit routine clinical information to a central team for analysis.

Results

We used collected cohort data to develop a multivariable prognostic model,  identifying five key factors: early steroid treatment, milder initial hearing loss, absence of vertigo, younger age, and presence of cardiovascular disease. 

This prognostic model provides clinicians with a tool to predict the likelihood of hearing recovery in patients with iSSNHL, facilitating informed and individualised treatment decisions. By identifying patients at higher risk of poor outcomes, clinicians can consider alternative or adjunctive therapies to improve prognosis.

 The model is available online at no cost and can be accessed through this website.  

Links:

Study protocol

Read the publication

Media coverage:

The Telegraph

The Independent

BBC News