The HearMus seminar series provides a monthly forum for the discussion of a broad array of topics around music and hearing health. The series aims to yield a state of the art of research on music perception and hearing impairment, hearing aids and music, and individual differences in music perception and production. Besides presentations from experts in academia and industry, the seminar series seeks to foster lively discussions and exchange of ideas, with the joint goal of sustaining and enhancing access to music for people with diverse hearing needs.
Seminar leaders: Prof. Alinka Greasley, Prof. Kai Siedenburg
The seminar dates are listed below with Zoom links.
********************************************************************
DECEMBER SPEAKERS
Prof. Stefania Serafin (Aalborg University)
Multisensory technologies for hearing health
In this talk we will present some of the research projects that we are running at our Multisensory Experience Lab at Aalborg University. In collaboration with Copenhagen Hearing and Balance Center, part of Rigshospitalet, and the Royal Danish Academy of Music, we are developing technologies to help individuals with diverse hearing abilities to appreciate music. All the developed solutions use several forms of multisensory technologies, from virtual and augmented reality to haptic feedback, to augment or substitute hearing abilities. The ultimate goal is to enhance the overall musical experience.
Dr Ellie Harding (University of Groningen)
Rehabilitative effects of musical training for participants with hearing loss: completed and prospective studies
Musical training has the potential to hone auditory and motor networks in the brain, while at the same time being fun, engaging, and stimulating social interaction. In Groningen, we are implementing musical training in multifaceted ways for populations with hearing loss. First, I will describe a study with adult cochlear implant (CI) users, a population whose functional deafness has been restored by an implanted device that replaces acoustic hearing with a lower quality electric hearing. Then I will share plans of our new study for older adults with mild-to-moderate hearing loss, either untreated or treated with hearing aids. In both studies, music is intended as a vehicle to stimulate beneficial neuroplasticity.
DECEMBER
Alinka Greasley is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: HearMus Seminar 3 (18.12.24)
Time: Dec 18, 2024 14:00-16:00 GMT (15:00-17:00 CET)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://universityofleeds.zoom.us/j/86824411545
Meeting ID: 868 2441 1545
Save the dates!
HearMus Seminar 4 (January 22.01.25) 14:00-16:00 GMT (15:00-17:00 CET)
HearMus Seminar 5 (February 20.02.25) 14:00-16:00 GMT (15:00-17:00 CET)
HearMus Seminar 6 (March 25.03.25) 14:00-16:00 GMT (15:00-17:00 CET)
Previous seminars
HearMus Seminar 2 (26.11.24)
Musical scene analysis of listeners with diverse hearing profiles: an update
Prof. Kai Siedenburg, Graz University of Technology
Auditory perception does not supply a direct image of the acoustical world, but it constructs auditory images by means of organizing principles that are collectively referred to as Auditory Scene Analysis (ASA). Diverse forms of hearing impairments are shown to have detrimental effects on ASA, which arguably takes its largest toll in the form of impaired speech intelligibility in noisy environments. In recent work of my team, we have shown that hearing impairments similarly degrade musical scene analysis (MSA). This talk will give an overview of these studies using excerpts of realistic classical music, popular music, or artificially constructed examples. The MSA tasks typically tested the ability to hear out target sounds in multi-instrument musical mixtures (e.g., “Was the target sound in the mix? Yes/No”). Surprisingly, several drastic acoustical manipulations of multi-track mixes (e.g., spatial separation, spectral filtering, hearing aid compression) showed little effect on MSA tasks, but acoustical manipulations were clearly distinguishable in terms of audio quality ratings. This disparity suggests a multifaceted approach to portraying listening abilities and preferences of listeners with diverse hearing profiles.
Barriers and facilitators to providing audiology services for musicians: perspectives from UK audiologists
Dr Samuel Couth, University of Manchester & Prof. Alinka Greasley, University of Leeds
Hearing disorders can threaten musicians’ performance abilities, impact their professional attainment and personal enjoyment, and can lead to a loss of profession. Therefore, it is vital that musicians take care of their hearing to ensure career longevity and general wellbeing. Audiologists are trained to prevent, diagnose and treat hearing problems and are essential in supporting the ongoing hearing health of musicians. However, it is not clear whether audiologists are equipped to address the conservation and rehabilitation needs of musicians; limited research shows that whilst some are confident in their ability, others report a lack of confidence or even reluctance to provide services for musicians. This talk describes the results of a recent mixed-methods study which sought to understand the current practice of audiologists delivering services for musicians within the UK, and to use the Capabilities, Opportunities, Motivations and Behaviour (COM-B) model to help understand the barriers audiologists face in providing effective and high-quality audiological care for musicians. Key findings from both survey and interview data will be outlined, along with a summary of the main barriers and facilitators that provide essential insights for developing behaviour change interventions.
HearMus Seminar 1 (21.10.24)
Hearing Aids for Music (HAfM) project update, Prof. Alinka Greasley (University of Leeds)
Hearing aid evaluation for music: Accounting for acoustical variability of music stimuli, Christophe Lesimple (Sonova)
Watch the first seminar back here:
JANUARY
Alinka Greasley is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: HearMus Seminar 4 (22.01.25)
Time: Jan 22, 2025 14:00-16:00 GMT (15:00-17:00 CET)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://universityofleeds.zoom.us/j/86082985384
Meeting ID: 860 8298 5384
FEBRUARY
Alinka Greasley is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: HearMus Seminar 5 (20.02.25)
Time: Feb 20, 2025 14:00-16:00 GMT (15:00-17:00 CET)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://universityofleeds.zoom.us/j/87092558319
Meeting ID: 870 9255 8319
MARCH
Alinka Greasley is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: HearMus Seminar 6 (25.03.25)
Time: Mar 25, 2025 14:00-16:00 GMT (15:00-17:00 CET)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://universityofleeds.zoom.us/j/81935189643
Meeting ID: 819 3518 9643