Cognition in Hearing Group

The Cognition in Hearing Special Interest Group (CH SIG) is part of the British Society of Audiology (BSA) and provides an opportunity for multi-disciplinary professionals to engage and work actively together progressing the field of cognition in hearing and listening.

Who we are

‘Cognition in Hearing’ refers to cognitive processes that are involved in listening to and understanding sounds, including attention, memory, learning and decision making. The CH SIG is also interested in audiological support for people living with cognitive disorders, such as dementia and learning disabilities. 

Our Aims

Promote high-quality research and evidence-based practice on topics relevant to Cognition in Hearing. 

Disseminate news about research and information relevant to the work of CH SIG. 

Develop BSA Online Learning modules on Cognition in Hearing topics e.g. modules aimed at clinicians. 

Review existing priorities for research or consider future need for priority setting. 

CH SIG Dementia Network

Grow the CH SIG Dementia Network and continue to provide support and guidance to audiologists and hearing healthcare professionals who work with people with dementia.

Steering Group Members

Helen Henshaw (Chair, Research liaison), Principal Research Fellow, NIHR Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre, University of Nottingham.  

Jenny Douglas (Secretary, Communication liaison), Audiologist, York Hospital; Lecturer, University of Leeds.  

Siobhán Brennan (PGG liaison), Senior Clinical Scientist, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; Lecturer, The University of Manchester.  

Laura Gaeta (Global/International liaison), Assistant Professor, California State University. 

Jenna Littlejohn, Research Fellow, The University of Manchester 

David Maidment, Senior Lecturer, Loughborough University 

Ann-Marie Dickinson, Highly Specialist Audiologist, Salford Care Organisation, Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board (CTMUHB 

Helen Flett, Senior Audiologist, The Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 

Rohani Omar, Consultant in Audiovestibular Medicine and Honorary Associate Professor UCL, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 

 

Current projects

The BSA Dementia Network

  • Provide a forum for sharing ideas and experiences based on working with people with dementia.
  • Create opportunities for networking with other healthcare practitioners and researchers.
  • Develop training materials for healthcare professionals working with people with dementia.
  • Build the evidence base needed to develop clinical guidance on best practice for working with people with dementia.

The BSA Dementia Network holds online meeting 3-4 times per year based on topics that are important to our members. The dates and times of the online meetings will be chosen to accommodate as many people as possible and we will record meetings for those who are unable to attend (videos of meetings will be made available to BSA members only).

You do not need to be a member of the Dementia Network or BSA to join our online meetings. Benefits of joining the Dementia Network include opportunities to network with other professionals with an interest in dementia, share resources and best practice and have a say in the content of future events.

If you would like to sign up to be part of the BSA Dementia Network, please use this link:

https://forms.office.com/r/DdW3rTDbQU

BSA guidance

Complete the BSA guidance on the use of Assistive Listening Devices for people with dementia. 

Resources

 

Other resources

 

Alzheimer’s Society 

Sight and hearing loss are both more common as you get older. For a person with dementia, this can cause extra problems, such as confusion about what’s happening around them and problems with communication. This Alzheimer’s Society webpage explains the problems with telling the difference between signs of dementia and acquired hearing loss, and how to help someone who has both. 

https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/about-dementia/symptoms-and-diagnosis/sight-hearing-loss 

Raising Dementia Awareness from a clinical perspective

A video created for Dementia Awareness week by the ARIG and CH SIG. 

James Lind Alliance Priority Setting Partnership on Coexisting Dementia and Hearing loss 

This work aims to ensure future research studies, or treatments being developed, are designed to address the real problems such people face in their everyday lives. 

https://www.jla.nihr.ac.uk/priority-setting-partnerships/coexisting-dementia-and-hearing-conditions/ 

PROTEA

Patient Reported OuTcomEs in Audiology: A toolkit to support selection of patient-reported outcome measures for audiology research and clinical practice (The PROTEA Toolkit). The toolkit provides a description of hearing-specific PROMs used widely in hearing healthcare and research and is available from the British Society of Audiology’s Sound Practice website. It is intended to support clinicians and researchers with the selection of measures to capture d/Deaf and hard of hearing adults’ perspectives of their hearing loss.   

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