Research areas

The sections below describe the research interests that ORCA Europe has focused on in the past, as well as the ongoing activities that we are currently involved in. Please find more information about each research area by clicking the link "Read more" below each research area.

Outcome measures for ecological validity

Auditory ecology refers to the acoustical environments that a person experiences and the auditory demands that a person has in these environments. Understanding auditory ecology is important both when developing hearing devices and when designing ecologically valid laboratory tests. We are also using big data in our research. The insights are used to design better hearing aids, to aid hearing care professionals to perform better hearing aid fittings and thus give better hearing aid experiences to users.

Test and verification methods

Sensitive, reliable, and valid test and verification methods are an essential part of high-quality auditory research. Revision of existing methods and development of new methods is therefore an important part of our work.

Hearing-aid fitting

Hearing-aid prescriptions are calculations based on, for example, measured hearing-threshold levels. Hearing-threshold levels are then used when deriving hearing-aid settings when fitting the individual. The suggested settings need to be appropriate so that the sound quality and speech intelligibility is acceptable for the individual hearing-aid end-user. Recently, there has been an increased interest in investigating different dimensions of fitting success.

Noise reduction and hearing aids

Understanding speech in background noise is one of the most common challenges for people with hearing loss. Therefore, is it important to develop test methods that can be used to evaluate and quantify the performance and benefit of different hearing-aid noise reduction systems.

Empowerment

Factors such as knowledge, strategies and skills, participation, control, and confidence are all dimensions in the process of empowerment along the hearing patient journey. We explore the acquisition, development, and application of these dimensions from the perspectives of both the hearing aid user and hearing care professional.

Other

Audiological research covers a wide range of domains, and ORCA Europe has participated in studies beyond our core focus areas. For example, hearing-aid fitting on specific age groups such as small children or specific types of hearing loss such as severe-profound hearing loss have both been of interest.