The "go-to" place for online information, resources and learning about hearing loss!
Section 1 is available now! Please visit the new website to start learning about hearing loss at:
SoundSpace Online is supported by Cochlear, National Institute for Hearing Research (NIHR), Oticon Medical, The University of Nottingham, Medilink and part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
Hearing loss has a huge, unseen impact on communication, whether in childhood or in adulthood. Today’s technology can transform this, but all too often good quality information is hard to find or hardly available. In 2005, Hesse et al. found that 49% of 6000 adults surveyed reported seeking health related information from the internet first. This number would be expected to be higher in 2014. Recently, Laplante-Lévesque et al. (2012) found that the quality and readability of internet information on hearing loss seems to be highly variable.
This is where SoundSpace Online comes in, bringing together the wide range of information and practical resources available on hearing loss, its impact on the lives of deaf children, young people and adults and its management. SoundSpace Online (in development):
- Is a comprehensive resource for all those concerned with issues and questions of hearing loss in a range of areas, including medicine, audiology, education, linguistics, psychology and many areas of science;
- Provides information to ensure those with hearing loss and their families can find the latest technology and services to support them;
- Is evidence-based, containing the latest research information;
- Has contributors who are international leaders in their fields.
Who will be able to use this site?
- Those with hearing loss;
- Parents, caregivers and friends;
- Those working with those with hearing loss and their families including audiologists, teachers, speech and language therapists, researchers, otologists, ENT specialists, social workers for the deaf, psychologists, classroom assistants;
- Non-specialists, including policy makers, administrators and funders of services;
- Anyone else interested to learn about hearing loss.
Aims & Goals
The aims of SoundSpace Online are:
- To serve as a time- and cost-effective go-to resource with accurate, comprehensive and functional information on hearing loss for those with hearing loss, their families, professionals and others interested;
- To provide an online resource containing information and resources in a range of areas, including research, audiology, education, linguistics, psychology, medicine and many other areas of science;
- To provide information that might be hard for people to use or find and make it readily accessible: to ensure those with hearing loss, their families, and professionals can find or be guided to the information and resources on the latest technology and services to support them;
- To be evidence-based and to include balanced evidence, containing the latest research information, and has contributors who are international leaders in their fields and who bring their expertise to the sections;
- To involve user, family and professional groups to provide input in the structure and content of the website, and serves as a place for visitors to discuss issues, ask questions, make comments and/or suggestions on anything related to hearing loss.
To accomplish these aims:
- Users, families and professionals are asked for input to the website;
- Professionals in relevant areas are asked to write sections of the website;
- Continuous reviews and checks will be carried out for content and lay-out, and to provide up-to-date information on hearing loss as much as is possible.
The goals of SoundSpace Online are:
- To increase accessibility to information on hearing loss that users, families, and professionals, and others interested and/or involved can access easily;
- To increase awareness of the impact of hearing loss including in different populations (across the lifespan, special populations), in various settings and on the use of equipment;
- To inform services and practice including in the field of research, the clinic and education.
SoundSpace Online has so far appeared in:
- Ng, Z.Y., Archbold, S., Mayer, C., & Mulla, I. (2015). SoundSpace Online: The Development of an Online Resource About Hearing Loss. American Journal of Audiology (ASHA), 24(3), 289-292. Available here.
- BATOD Magazine, March 2015, ISSN 1336-0799;
- EURO-CIU Newsletter, May 2015.
SoundSpace Online has also been presented at conferences:
- The First International Meeting on Internet & Audiology in Linköping, Sweden (October, 2014);
- BCIG Conference 2015 in Bristol, UK (March, 2015);
- BAA Conference 2015 in Harrogate, UK (November, 2015);
- Deaf Education 2016 Conference (The Ear Foundation), Nottingham, UK (June 2016), please click here to see the press release;
- Other internal and external meetings & seminars.
Please follow us on Facebook or Twitter for the latest updates on SoundSpace Online through The Ear Foundation, the Education and Research & Clinical Programmes, using #SoundSpaceOnline when launched.
To become involved in our Research, please visit this page.