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Hearing loss affects over 1/2 of Canadians over 65 years of age. Remarkably, however, hearing aid adoption rates have remained stable and very low (20-25%) over the past 25 years. This is particularly surprising given the significant, concomitant advancements in hearing aid technologies within the same timeframe. In attempting to identify the causes of dissatisfaction with current hearing aid devices, hearing aid companies are now beginning to appreciate that the effects of hearing loss may extend beyond communication deficits to other critical aspects of quality of life, such as mobility. Studies are being performed at Toronto Rehab’s Challenging Environment Assessment Laboratory (CEAL) to carefully evaluate the relationship between hearing and balance in younger and older adults (with and without hearing loss) in realistic, multisensory, Virtual Reality environments.

Faculty Supervisor:

Eugene Fiume

Student:

Partner:

University Health Network (UHN);Phonak Canada Ltd;University of Toronto

Discipline:

Computer science

Sector:

Education

University:

University of Toronto

Program: