Current Research Projects

Rehabilitation Devices


Some of NAL's research is aimed at improving and evaluating the effectiveness of devices used in the habilitation and rehabilitation of people with impaired hearing. Most of this research involves hearing aids, but some involves other communication devices. Some of the research projects in this area are funded by industry and are subject to commercial arrangements.

NAL's research into improved devices and NAL's research into improved rehabilitation procedures complement each other in that advances in one area often cannot be effective without matching advances in the other.


Current projects concerned with rehabilitation devices include:

  • Active Occlusion Reduction in Hearing Aids
    Aims to devise a method that clinicians can use to predict which clients will suffer from occlusion problems, and which will have those problems solved by our active occlusion reduction scheme. Read More >
  • Binaural Signal Processing for Hearing Aids and Cochlear Implants
    Aims to create new techniques for processing sounds received at the two sides of the head, to both improve speech perception in noise and give hearing aid wearers an accurate perception of auditory space. Read More >
  • Laboratory Simulation of 3D Real-World Environments
    This project will devise and implement a 3D array of loudspeakers and associated hardware and software that will enable arbitrary listening environments to be recreated in an anechoic chamber. The apparatus will be used for many future NAL projects involving hearing aids, cochlear implants, and hearing protectors.
  • Barriers to Hearing Rehabilitation
    Aims to understand the barriers to hearing rehabilitation in adults and to develop approaches to facilitate greater uptake of rehabilitation and improved outcomes. Read More >
  • Self-Fitting Hearing Aids
    Aims to develop and evaluate a wearable amplification device that users can program themselves, without the need for audiological or computer support. Read More >
  • Trainable Devices
    Aims to develop and evaluate signal processing schemes that enable users of hearing aids and cochlear implants to train their devices to their preferred characteristics in varying everyday listening situations. Read More >