NAL’s 2022 impact report highlights achievements and anticipations for 2023
National Acoustics Laboratory (NAL), an international provider of hearing research headquartered in New South Wales, Australia, releases its annual impact report for 2022—outlining the organization’s achievements and contributions to the hearing care industry over the past year, and anticipations for 2023.
“As I look back on what we accomplished in 2022, I am amazed at the many and diverse ways in which NAL researchers have had an impact on hearing healthcare, particularly on the heels of recovering from the effects of COVID-19 on our ability to conduct research,” writes NAL director Brent Edwards, PhD.
The report highlights three studies: the aboriginal caregivers’ perspectives on supporting young children’s hearing health and language development; better health messages to motivate people to seek hearing help; difficulties in communication on video conferencing platforms.
NAL shared that there were 30 active projects throughout the year—22 were reportedly commenced with 4,857 volunteers. The company achieved 48 active international collaborations and multi-year alliances, and received a grant of $452,714 (AUD) for key AI research. It was also reported that the company entered a new agreement with the Federal Department of Health and Aged Care to undertake hearing research valued at $19.3 million over the next four years.
“In 2022, NAL made considerable progress towards its mission to improve hearing health, by collaborating with global leaders, to transform the lives of people with hearing difficulties,” wrote NAL hearing Australia managing director, Kim Terrell. “NAL is leading the investigation on the benefits of devices other than hearing aids, such as Apple Airpods Pro, for people with hearing difficulties but minimally diagnosed hearing loss. NAL’s ongoing work continues to play a critical role in shaping the future of hearing healthcare.”
The report went on to showcase NAL’s researcher of the year, Jessica Monaghan, PhD, MA (CANTAB), MSCI. Monaghan has a background in physics and engineering, with expertise in human listening, machine learning, and hearing technology. Her current work with NAL focuses on how machine learning and technology can be used to tackle problems in hearing healthcare.
Looking ahead in 2023, a few members of the research team shared that they are focusing on ensuring hearing technologies and care are personalized to meet the needs of each individual, identifying determinants of intervention success in ongoing longitudinal studies in children with hearing loss, research and development of more accessible, useful, and impactful technologies for people with hearing health conditions, and enabling translational research impact through growing external engagement, as well as managing the impact framework at NAL and its innovation agenda.
NAL has been providing research for the hearing healthcare community for 75 years, and is funded by the Australian Government Department of Health
For more information and to view the Annual Impact Report for 2022 visit the organization’s website.
Source: NAL
Images: NAL
