Hearing loss is a major public health issue, disproportionately affecting underserved communities. It causes communication difficulties, anxiety and isolation, and is associated with frailty, dementia and depression. It results in poorer education and employment prospects, widening inequalities.
Hearing loss must be studied in the context of broader health, societal, and environmental factors. It is only by taking a far-reaching inclusive view that hearing loss can be prevented, diagnosed, and treated effectively. The Hearing Health theme will achieve this through four unique programmes of research. Each of our four programmes approaches Hearing Health within the context of a distinct group of internal or external factors, as follows:
- Hearing, Genetics, and Molecular Mechanisms
- Hearing and Other Senses
- Hearing and Brain Health
- Hearing, Society, and the Environment