Music to our ears

As hearing aids are typically designed for speech, their technology can struggle with the dynamic range and frequencies of music, often making for a patchy listening experience for people who use them. By collaborating with researchers and hearing aid users, the research team produced several guides to help others get better results from their hearing aids.

A lot of people who are profoundly deaf get pleasure out of music. They just access it in different ways.

—Professor Alinka Greasley

Impact

• Community collaboration: co-produced several guides to help people get better results from their hearing aids

Key information

• Funders: Arts and Humanities Research Council, Medical Research Council, Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council
• Partners and collaborators: Sheffield Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
• Disciplines: music, health tech, diversity, equity and inclusion
• Investigators: Professor Alinka Greasley, Dr Amy Beeston, Dr Jackie Salter

Keywords: music psychology, technology, healthtech, access to music, listening behaviour, hearing aids, hearing loss, disability studies, equity, inclusion