Hearing Research Unit for Children

The Hearing Research Unit for Children is devoted to the study of hearing and hearing disorders in children who may have associated speech, language and learning difficulties.

Members

The unit capitalises on the strengths of national and internationally renowned researchers across audiology, speech pathology, occupational therapy and otorhinolaryngology (ear, nose and throat specialists). 

Director: Associate Professor Joseph Kei

Deputy Director: Associate Professor Wayne Wilson

Members

Dr Sreedevi Aithal

Dr Venkatesh Aithal

Dr Shane Anderson

Dr Robyn Choi

Dr Cerys Downing

Associate Professor Carlie Driscoll

Associate Professor Leanne Johnston

Dr Annette Kaspar

Dr Tegan Keogh

Associate Professor Asad Khan

Dr Tomomi McAuliffe

Dr Joshua Myers

Dr Mansoureh Nickbakht

Professor Nerina Scarinci

Dr Barbra Timmer

Research associates

Professor Hiroshi Hosoi (President, Nara Medical University, Japan)

Dr David Morris (Department of Nordic Studies and Linguistics, University of Copenhagen, Sweden).

Dr Hamzah Wali (Senior Audiologist, Department of Audiology, Ohud Hospital, Ministry of Health, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Madinah, Saudi Arabia)

Professor Bradley McPherson

Professor Christopher Perry (Faculty of Medicine, University of Queensland and President of the Australian Medical Association Queensland)

Professor Hiroshi Wada

Professor Lena Wong (Division of Speech and Hearing Sciences, University of Hong Kong)

Associate Professor Rafidah Mazlan (Department of Audiology and Speech Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia)

Associate Professor Michio Murakoshi (Faculty of Frontier Engineering, Kanazawa University, Japan)

Professor Lisa Hunter (Scientific Director, Audiology, Otolaryngology and Communication Sciences and Disorders, Cincinnati Children's Hospital, USA)

Associate Professor Alicja Malicka (School of Allied Health, Human Services and Sport, La Trobe University, Victoria).

Dr Nuala Beahan (Senior Audiologist, Mater Health Services, Brisbane)

Dr Rachael Beswick (Education Queensland)

Higher Degree Research Students (completed/ongoing)

Key research areas

The Unit focuses on research projects in the areas of hearing dysfunction, such as disorders in the external ear, middle ear, cochlea, brainstem and upper auditory pathway up to the auditory cortex, and the management of hearing disorders. Some of our research projects include:

• **Auditory processing test batteries for children with listening difficulties
  
• **Differential diagnosis of auditory processing disorder in school-aged children
• **A hearing health program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander teenagers
• **Detecting otitis media in young children using wideband absorbance with deep metric learning (funded by the William Demant Foundation)
• **Detecting otitis media in young children using wideband tympanometrty with deep metric learning (funded by the William Demant Foundation)
• **Detecting otitis media in young children using otoscopic images with deep metric learning (funded by the William Demant Foundation)
• **Paediatric hearing screening: strategies and outcomes
• **Hearing screening of infants and children in the Pacific Islands
• **Shared risk factors for childhood hearing and vision loss and predictors of dual sensory loss
• **Advanced audiology-led models of ENT care for children with hearing loss and middle ear disorders
• Managing auditory processing and hyperacusis in autistic children
• Music education for children with hearing aids
• Reading and spelling development in children with cochlear implants
• Classroom sound field amplification for children on the autism spectrum
• Hearing loss in children with learning difficulties
• Hearing protection in children (from damage by noise)
• Rehabilitative audiology for children
• Hearing disorders in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children
• Auditory evoked potentials in newborns, infants and children
• Assessment and management of children with conductive hearing loss

**current projects

HDR Availabe Projects

1. Detecting otitis media in young children using wideband Sweep Frequency Impedance (A MPhil project to be supervised by Associate Professor Joseph Kei and Associate Professor Michio Murakoshi).

Projects in planning

Future projects include:

1. Detecting otitis media in young children using wideband Sweep Frequency Impedance (A MPhil project to be supervised by Associate Professor Joseph Kei and Associate Professor Michio Murakoshi).

Honours and awards

 2023 Best Poster Award for Liddle, K., Fitzgibbons, E.J., Beswick, R., & Driscoll, C. (2023). Cochlear nerve deficiency is an important cause of ANSD at a population level. Australasian Newborn Hearing Screening Conference, Hobart.

2020-21.1 Awarded “Top cited” publication by Wiley: Hill, J., Zivianni, J., & Driscoll, C. (2020). The connection just happens: Therapists’ perspectives of canine assisted occupational therapy for children on the autism spectrum. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 67(6), 550-562

2020 Pokorny, Wilson, Whitfield, and Thorne (2020) awarded Editor’s choice for the 5th issue of volume 41 of Ear & Hearing

2020 Commendations for Substantive Contributions to Student Learning Award to Associate Professor Wayne Wilson and Associate Professor Joseph Kei

2020 Mentor of PhD student, International Society of Audiology Student Scholarship to present at the World Congress of Audiology in Poland, April 2020

2019-2020 Bell, Angwin, Wilson, and Arnott (2019) listed in the top 10 most downloaded papers in the Journal of Deaf Studies & Deaf Education.

2019 Mentor of PhD student, Children’s Hospital Foundation PhD Scholarship (3 years)

2018 Certificate of Outstanding Service. Awarded to Associate Professor Wayne Wilson by action of the Board of Audiology Australia for research, teaching and service in auditory processing and auditory processing disorder

2017 Mentor of PhD student, UQ Pitching Research Award

2016 Chinese University of Hong Kong Inbound Research Mobility Scheme International Award

2015 Mentor of PhD student, Dean’s Award for Outstanding Research Higher Degree Theses

2013 Editor’s choice of the article Beswick, Driscoll & Kei, (2012) in the UK magazine [ENT & Audiology News, 22(1), 116]

2012 Best Poster Award at the 19th National Conference of the 2nd Malaysian Audiological Conference, Malaysia

2010 Certificate of Outstanding Service. Awarded to Associate Professor Wayne Wilson by action of the Board of Audiology Australia for research, teaching and service in auditory processing and auditory processing disorder

2010 Best Poster Award at the 19th National Conference of the Audiology Australia

2009 Best Research in Diagnostic Audiology, The Hearing Journal nominated the article (Mazlan, Kei & Hickson., 2009) for this award

2007 Wilson, Sharp, Hansen, Kwong, and Kelly (2007) cited as one of the ‘all-round favourites in the diagnostic audiology literature’ in the Hearing Journal’s ‘Best Audiology Literature of 2007’ (Stach, B.A. [2008]. The best of 2007: Diagnostic audiology. The Hearing Journal, 61[6], 30-34).

2003 Award of the best paper paper [Kei J. et al. (2003) Transient evoked otoacoustic emissions in adults: a comparison between two test protocols] published in The Journal of the American Academy of Audiology

2001 Professor James Jerger, Editor of the Journal of American Academy of Audiology commended (Keogh, Kei, Driscoll & Smyth, 2001) as being “of considerable significance for both researchers and clinicians”.

Publications (2022 - present)

Wilson, W.J. & Gurteen, H. (2026). Low-gain hearing aids for individuals with normal hearing thresholds: A scoping review of listening-related outcomes. International Journal of Audiology. doi: 10.1080/14992027.2026.2735516

Gurteen, H., Edwards, E.J., & Wilson, W.J. (2026). Relationship between listening difficulties and internalising behaviours in school-aged children: A scoping review. International Journal of Audiology. doi: 10.1080/14992027.2026.2675569.

Mealings, K., Wilson, W.J., & Buchholz, J.M. (2026). What we do and do not know about how the classroom environment affects listening, learning, and wellbeing in autistic children: A scoping review applying the L3 Assessment Framework. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 41(4), 679-709. doi: 10.1080/08856257.2025.2577923

Doherty, E., Wilson, W.J., & Barrett, M. (2026). How do children with hearing loss progress in group flute lessons compared to their normally hearing peers? A preliminary study. Psychology of Music, 54(3) 396-410. doi: 10.1177/03057356251325450

Zhang, Z.Y., Driscoll, C., Hill, J., Howell, T., & Ward, G. (2026). Canine-assisted speech pathology for children: Caregiver and therapist perspectives. Healthcare, 13, 3299. doi.org/10.3390/ healthcare13243299

Moon, K., Aithal, S., Aithal, V., & Kei, J. (2026). Immediate test-retest reliability and agreement of wideband absorbance results in infants. International Journal of Audiology, Ahead-of-Print, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1080/14992027.2026.2623519

Kei, J., Lee M.W.J., Myers, J., Aithal, S., Aithal, V., Driscoll, C., Khan, A. (2026). Risk factors for parent-reported otitis media in 12-month-old infants. International Journal of Audiology, 65(8), 977-982

Kei J, Oudesluys-Murphy AM, Leemhuis AG et al. (2026). European Standards of Care for Newborn Health: Hearing screening. European Foundation for the Care of Newborn Infants (EFCNI)

Kei J, Parker J, Lian E, Downing C. (2025). Impact of background noise on wideband absorbance findings. Journal of Hearing Science, 15(1) 9-15. DOI: 10.17430/jhs/202452 

Wilson, W.J., Sher, A., Higgins, R., & Kapadia, S. (2025). A comment on the order of report in two-pair dichotic digit testing in children assessed for auditory processing. International Journal of Audiology.?? doi: 10.1080/14992027.2023.2299921

Masiero, B.S., Caldas-Correia, F., Underwood, S., Rosas-Perez, C., Algargoosh, A., Bettarello, F., Caniato, M., Davies, W.J., Manley, D., Remington, A., Sivakumar, A.J., Wilson, W.J., Zaniboni, L., & Wang, L.M. (2025). Ten questions concerning autism and auditory accessibility in buildings. Building and Environment, 113634. doi: 10.1016/j.buildenv.2025.113634.

Mundy, L., Driscoll, C., & Young, J. (2025). Introducing therapy dog programs within organisational settings: A scoping review of implementation processes and practices. People & Animals, 8(1), 1-20.

Kaspar, A., Tofaeono-Pifeleti, R., Hunkin, G., Tamanikaiyaroi, L., Driscoll, C., & Pifeleti, S. (2025). Translation of the Youth Attitude to Noise Scale and evaluation of Samoan university student attitudes towards recreational and environmental noise: A cross-sectional study to support the development of noise health promotion strategies. Sage Open Medicine, 13, 1-10

Kaspar, A., Driscoll, C., Pifeleltia, S., & Pemilac, J. (2025). The role of ENT/Audiology services in the implementation of Inclusive Education in the Pacific Islands: A scoping literature review for Samoa. International Journal of Inclusive Education, (in press).

Kriukelis, R., Gabbett, M.T., Beswick, R., McInerney-Leo, A.M., Driscoll, C., & Liddle, K. (2025). The congenital hearing phenotype in GJB2 in Queensland, Australia: V371 and mild hearing loss predominates. European Journal of Human Genetics, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41431-024-01584-0 

Kaspar, A., Pifeleti, S., Ah Kuoi, M., & Driscoll, C. (2024). Prevalence and pattern of ear disease among primary school students in Samoa: Preliminary results from ENT Clinic outreach to urban, rural and remote settings. Ear, Nose, & Throat Journal. DOI: 10.1177/01455613241279719.

Kaspar, A., Pifeleti, S., Driscoll, C., & Ah Kuoi, M. (2024). Ethical considerations for introducing school-based hearing and vision screening in the Pacific Islands: A Samoan Case Study. Annals of Otology, Rhinology, and Laryngology, 133(10), 910-914.

Aithal S, Aithal V, Kei J, Wilson M, Forrester L. (2024). Predictive accuracy of wideband absorbance under various pressure conditions in identifying infants with a conductive hearing loss.  Journal of the American Academy of Audiology, in press.

Collins A, Beswick R, Driscoll C, Kei J. (2024). Otolaryngology outcomes of infants with conductive hearing loss identified through universal newborn hearing screening. International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology, in press.

Aithal S, Aithal V, Kei J. (2024). Wideband absorbance predicts the severity of conductive hearing loss in children with otitis media with effusion. Ear and Hearing 45:636-647.

Pokorny, M., Thorne, P., Whitfield, B., & Wilson, W.J. (2024). Diagnostic & management plan concordance across advanced audiologists, paediatric audiologists & non-specialist ENT doctors. International Journal of Audiology, 63(1), 69-73. doi: 10.1080/14992027.2022.2145515 

Hill, J., Gui, J., Moodley, K., & Driscoll, C. (2024) Understanding the experience of assistance dog providers supporting people with disability: An exploratory study. Disability & Rehabilitation, https://doi.org/10.1080/09638288.2024.2354512

Fitzgibbons, E.J., Driscoll, C., Traves, L., & Beswick, R. (2024) Detecting postnatal hearing loss through targeted surveillance: Risk registry and surveillance timeframe recommendations. Journal of Speech, Language, & Hearing Research, https://doi.org/10.1044/2024_JSLHR-23-00499

Hill, J., Driscoll, C., & Pearse, K. (2024). Animal-assisted services and occupational therapy: A survey study. People & Animals, 7(1), 1-16.

Hill, J., Driscoll, C., et al. (2024). Canine-assisted occupational therapy for children within a student-led university clinic: The influence on child engagement from the perspectives of student and parent participants. Physical & Occupational Therapy in Pediatrics, doi: 10.1080/01942638.2023.2273281.

Hill, J., Driscoll, C., Cawdell-Smith, J., Anderson, S., & Ziviani, J. (2023). Investigating dog welfare when interacting with autistic children within canine-assisted occupational therapy sessions: A Single Case Study. Animals, 13, 1965. doi.org/10.3390/ani13121965

Kaspar, A., Pifeleti, S., & Driscoll, C. (2023). Knowledge and attitudes of female caregivers in Samoa to childhood hearing loss and hearing services. International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology, doi:10.1016/j.ijporl.2023.111557.        

Collins A, Beswick R, Driscoll C, Kei J. (2023). Conductive hearing loss in newborns: Hearing profile, risk factors, and occasions of service. International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology 171 111630 111630. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijporl.2023.111630

AlMakadma H, Kei J, Yeager D, Feeney P. (2023). Fundamental Concepts for Assessment and Interpretation of Wideband Acoustic Immittance Measurements. Seminars in Hearing 44: 17-28.

AlMakadma H, Aithal Sreedevi, Kei J. (2023). Use of Wideband Acoustic Immittance in Neonates and Infants. Seminars in Hearing, 44, 29-45.

Iyer, K.K., Bell, N., Copland, D.A., Arnott, W.L., Wilson, W.J., & Angwin, A.J. (2023). Modulations of right hemisphere connectivity in young children relates to the perception of spoken words. Neuropsychologia, 183, 108532. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2023.108532.

Doherty, E., Wilson, W.J., & Barrett, M.S. (2023). Music education & engagement for young children with hearing loss. In M.S. Barrett & G.F. Welch, The Oxford handbook of early childhood learning & development in music (pp. 862-895, Ch 55). Oxford: Oxford University Press (Academic). doi: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190927523.013.56. ISBN: 9780190927523

Kaspar, A., Samuelu-Matthes, Driscoll, C., & Pifeleti, S. (2023). Awareness and perceptions of university nursing students in Samoa towards childhood hearing impairment and hearing healthcare: A cross-sectional study. Sage Open Nursing (in press).

Kaspar, A., Pifeleti, S., & Driscoll, C. (2023). Knowledge and attitudes of school principals towards childhood hearing loss and hearing services: A cross-sectional survey to support the implementation of Inclusive Education in Samoa. Sage Open Medicine (in press).

Rohit, R., Gunjawate, D.R., & Driscoll, C. (2023). Stress among parents of children with hearing loss and how do they deal with it? A systematic review. International Archives of Otorhinolaryngology, DOI:10.1055/s-0042-1743273

Salmon, A., Driscoll, C., Paterson, M., Harpur, P., & Pachana, N. (2022). Issues regarding the welfare of assistance dogs. Animals, 12, 3250.

Moore, M., Fitzgibbons, E.J., Driscoll, C., & Beswick, R. (2022). Neonatal bacterial meningitis: Hearing screening and audiological monitoring outcomes. International Journal of Audiology, doi: 10.1080/14992027.2022.2145514     

Kaspar, A., Pifeleti, S., Driscoll, C., Potoi, B., & Amosa-Lei, F. (2022). Knowledge and attitudes of Pacific Islander doctors and medical students to childhood hearing loss and hearing services: Results of a structured questionnaire survey in Samoa. Global Pediatric Health, 9, doi: 10.1177/2333794x221126079

Aithal S, Aithal V, Kei J, Wilson M. (2022). Wideband tympanometry findings in neonates: J Am Acad Audiol. 33(7), 381-389 https://doi.org/10.1055/a-1925-7830

Collins A, Beswick R, Driscoll C, Kei J. (2022). Clinical characteristics of infants identified with a conductive hearing loss through universal newborn hearing screening: A population-based sample. International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology.(Ahead of Print) doi.org/10.1016/j.ijporl.2022.111268

Downing C, Kei J, Driscoll C. (2022). Measuring resonance frequency of the middle ear in school-aged children: Potential applications for detecting middle ear dysfunction. International Journal of Audiology 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1080/14992027.2022.2135033

Aithal S, Kei J, Aithal V. (2022). Normative high frequency (1000 Hz) tympanometry in six-month-old infants. International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology, , 160 111223, 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijporl.2022.111223.

Downing C, Kei J, Driscoll C, Choi R, Scott D. (2022). Wideband Tympanometry Findings in School-Aged Children: Effects of Age, Gender, Ear Laterality and Ethnicity. Ear & Hearing 43, 1245-1255. doi:10.1097/AUD.0000000000001197

Bell, N., Angwin, A., Arnott, W., & Wilson, W.J. (2022). Literacy development in children with cochlear implants: A review. Australian Journal of Learning Difficulties. 27(1), 115-134. doi: 10.1080/19404158.2021.2020856.

Pokorny, M., Thorne, P., Lee, A., Whitfield, B.C.S, & Wilson, W.J. (2022). Parental satisfaction with an Advanced Audiology-led triage service in paediatric ENT outpatient clinics. International Journal of Audiology, 61(2), 159-165. doi: 10.1080/14992027.2021.1930207.

Liddle, K., Fitzgibbons, E. J., Beswick, R., & Driscoll, C. (2022) Cochlear nerve deficiency is an important cause of auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder at a population level in children. International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology, 111171. doi: 10.1016/j.ijporl.2022.111171.

Fitzgibbons, E. J., Keszegi, S., Driscoll, C., & Beswick, R. (2022). Childhood hearing loss detected beyond the newborn screen. International Journal of Audiology. doi:10.1080/14992027.2022.2042606.

Impact on Policy Development and Public Practice

In 2024, Associate Professor Joseph Kei leads the development of an updated version of the European Standards of Care for Newborn Health: Hearing Screening - Follow-up and continuing care. The target group of this Standard is: Infants born very preterm or those infants with risk factors for ear diseases and their parents.

Our research team was the first to try out a new technology (high-frequency tympanometry, HFT) with neonates. We were the first in the world to publish a paper (Kei et al., 2003) to demonstrate that HFT can accurately detect middle ear effusion (MEE) in neonates. Our research team was the first in the world to publish papers (e.g., Mazlan, Kei, Hickson et al, 2009) on the use of high-frequency acoustic reflex tests to detect MEE and auditory neuropathy in young infants. This work had strong impact: The American Academy of Audiology’s Childhood Hearing Screening Guidelines (2011) and Clinical Guidance Document Assessment of Hearing in Infants and Young Children (2020) recommended the use of High Frequency Tympanometry (HFT) with young infants (Kei et al., 2003; Mazlan, Kei & Hickson, 2009). Since then, HFT has become widely used in daily clinical practice by clinicians around the globe.

The Joint Committee on Infant Hearing’s Year 2019 Position Statement: Principles and Guidelines for Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Programs recommended the use of the high-frequency acoustic reflex test with newborns and young infants (Kei, 2012). To date, our team’s publications in this area have dominated in the scientific literature.

In 2021, the World Health Organisation World Report on Hearing cited the research of our team on the use of advanced audiology-led services as an example of task-sharing to address gaps in the ear and hearing care workforce around the world (Pokorny et al., 2020). This work had also been cited as the Editor’s choice for the 5th issue of volume 41 of Ear and Hearing.

In 2018, the European 17 countries consensus endorsed the approaches to auditory processing disorder reported in Wilson (2018). Our team’s publications in this area continue to dominate the scientific and professional literature.

Between 2003 and 2019, Wilson et al’s research on auditory processing disorder (Saleh,  Campbell, & Wilson, 2003; Wilson, Katz, Dalgleish, & Rix, 2007; Wilson, Jackson, Pender, Rose, Wilson, Heine, & Khan, 2011; Dillon, Cameron, Glyde, Wilson, & Tomlin, 2012; Wilson & Arnott, 2013; Wilson, Arnott, & Henning, 2013; Wilson, Kei, Hughes, Sher, Buckles, Butler, Choong, Evans, Gordon-Macleod, Leete, Pound, & Vasudevan, 2013; Wilson, 2018) was cited in the National Position Statements and Guidelines on auditory processing disorder in Canada (2012), South Africa (2016), Germany (2016), Netherlands (2017), Europe (2017/2018), Britain (2018), and New Zealand (2019).

Beginning in 2011, Queensland Health’s Healthy Hearing Universal Newborn Hearing Screening program has continuously adopted new protocols and pathways for the screening and surveillance of infants state-wide based on our studies (Driscoll & McPherson, 2010; Beswick et al., 2012a; 2012b; 2012c; 2013; Beswick & Driscoll, 2013; Driscoll et al., 2015). Our ongoing research findings directly affect the hearing screening and surveillance testing of the state’s 62,000 births per year.

In 2011, four of our papers were included in the American Academy of Audiology’s official practice guidelines - Childhood Hearing Screening Guidelines (2011). This seminal document from the world’s largest audiological professional association guided all hearing screening activities in this decade for the USA’s 74 million children.
    
In 2008, Australian Hearing, the national statutory provider of audiology services for children, adopted new rehabilitation methods for the teenager and young adult clinical pathway based on our commissioned research report.

Funding support

From 2012 to present, the Unit has received funding support of $2,094,483, from various institutions including the NHMRC, Queensland Health, international universities and the William Demant Foundation.

Contact the Hearing Research Unit for Children

Associate Professor Joseph Kei

Phone: 07 3365 2824
Email: k.kei@uq.edu.au