Becoming a Research Volunteer at the National Acoustic Laboratories

 

For the last 60 years, the National Acoustic Laboratories (NAL) have been leading the world in research into hearing aids, rehabilitation strategies, and hearing loss prevention. An integral part of NAL's research program is the contribution of our volunteers. NAL volunteers make valuable contributions both to science and to the general community. Many volunteers report that they enjoy the tasks involved and feel a sense that their time and efforts will help others with hearing loss in the future.

The tasks associated with individual research projects vary widely, and may include identifying the location of sounds in space, rating the intelligibility of speech in a variety of background noises, or recording your experiences with a new hearing aid in a diary.

As a potential research volunteer, you will be invited to NAL for an initial intake appointment, during which a hearing test is completed and your eligibility for current experiments is assessed.

After this initial assessment your name will be placed on a secure electronic database that is accessible only to NAL research audiologists.

The intake appointment

The intake appointment is a chance for you to get to know the NAL audiologists and for us to learn more about you. During the appointment, we will ask questions about your hearing loss and, if applicable, your hearing aid(s), conduct a full audiological assessment, and answer any questions you may have about volunteering at NAL. If you have had a recent hearing test, you can either bring the results to the appointment or sign a form giving us permission to obtain the results from your hearing centre or clinic. You are also welcome to bring your spouse, partner, or friend to the appointment, but please note that we are unable to supervise young children during the appointment. Please allow one and a half (11/2) hours for the intake appointment.

Location of NAL and how to get there

NAL is located at 126 Greville Street, Chatswood West
If you are driving to NAL, you may park in the visitors' parking spaces outside the front entrance (please note: very limited number of spaces), on either level of the two-level parking structure in any space marked Australian Hearing, or in the surrounding streets. Please pay attention to parking restrictions along Greville and Wood Streets and note that street parking is limited to two (2) hours in many areas.

If you are taking the train to NAL, the nearest station is Chatswood. Walking from Chatswood Station to NAL will take 20-30 minutes. The 545 bus services the area and runs from Chatswood Station to the corner of Fullers Road and Greville Street from where it is a 10 minute walk to NAL.

How NAL is different from a hearing centre or audiology clinic

NAL may appear similar to your own hearing centre or audiology clinic in many ways. For example, the audiologists at NAL have the same qualifications and training as the audiologists at your hearing centre or clinic. However, NAL audiologists are not able to offer audiological services beyond those that are required for the research study in which you are enrolled, even if you are an Australian Hearing client. These include, but are not limited to, the following:

Your NAL audiologist will be pleased to discuss any general concerns you may have about your hearing loss and/or your hearing aid(s). However, you will be encouraged to attend your local hearing centre or audiology clinic for the provision of professional services. If you do not have a primary audiologist, please feel free to request a list of audiology clinics in your area from your NAL audiologist.

Your rights as a research volunteer

All research conducted by NAL must have the approval of a formally constituted Human Research Ethics Committee. As such, a number of mechanisms are in place to protect the rights of our research volunteers.

Volunteers are free to decide whether to participate in a research study, and may withdraw from a study at any time for any reason. You will be given written information about the procedures involved in the study and your written consent must be obtained before the study commences.

Privacy of your personal information will be strictly observed. Outcomes of research studies are often published in scientific journals and/or presented at professional conferences, but will never include information that would allow you to be identified.

Although service to NAL as a research volunteer is on a voluntary basis, a small gratuity to cover your time and travel costs is paid to you upon completion of the study. You will be informed of your entitlements in writing prior to the commencement of the study.

In some cases, you may be able to retain or purchase the hearing aid(s) that you used during a clinical trial. NAL audiologists will provide details of relevant settings and specifications to your hearing centre or audiology clinic.

Complaints or reservations about any ethical aspect of research may be reported to the secretary of the Ethics Committee, Dr Tim Gainsford, on 9412 6862. All complaints will be treated in confidence.

Your responsibilities as a research volunteer

Volunteers should carefully consider the time commitment involved when agreeing to participate in a research study, as withdrawal from a study before its conclusion may affect the progress of the research. The required schedule of appointments will be provided to you in writing prior to the commencement of the study.

Volunteers should try to attend appointments on time. Please advise your NAL audiologist by telephone or email if you are unable to attend a scheduled appointment. Alternatively, if you are unable to reach your NAL audiologist directly, a message may be left with reception on 9412 6800.

When participating in research, volunteers should follow instructions given by NAL audiologists as closely as possible. Please feel free to discuss any doubts or concerns about test procedures with your NAL audiologist as soon as they arise.

In cases where volunteers are able to retain or purchase the hearing aid(s) that were used in a clinical trial, NAL audiologists are unable to take responsibility for ongoing repairs, maintenance, or rehabilitation services. It is your responsibility to make prompt arrangements for follow-up service with your own hearing centre or clinic.

Selection of participants for a research study

For each study, we try to select groups of people who have a particular characteristic in common. For example, we may look for people with similar hearing losses, or who all wear the same style of hearing aid. The purpose of this is to reduce the number of factors or variables that will affect the results. The selection criteria we use vary widely from study to study. As a result, you may be contacted to participate in a study shortly after volunteering with us, while others on our database may have to wait a year or more.

If no current studies are suited to your needs at the time of your assessment, we will, with your permission, retain your details on our secure database so that we may contact you with news of future volunteer opportunities.

While we do seek to reduce the number of variables that could affect the outcome of a study, we do not discriminate on the basis of age, gender, or ethnic origin.

How potential participants are contacted

Potential participants in a NAL research project are always contacted by post. News of an upcoming study will always contain the following:

If you receive a letter from NAL, you are under no obligation to participate in the study.

You are always welcome to telephone or email the audiologist in charge of the study for more information before deciding whether or not to participate.

Additionally, you are always welcome to request that we do not contact you again for future studies. You do not need to supply a reason for this request.

Before starting a study

Many of the tasks involved in NAL research studies require that your ear canals are free of wax and/or debris. For example, we may take impressions of your ears, or conduct measurements that involve placing a small probe into your ear canal. If you are prone to a buildup of wax in your ear canals, it would be beneficial to have your GP look into your ears and to remove any wax before attending your first study appointment at NAL.

If you have decided that you would like to participate in research at NAL

Please contact Vivian Fabricatorian on 9412 6872 or via email at Research@nal.gov.au to schedule your intake appointment. We look forward to seeing you at NAL!