University urges
Scots to open
their ears to
hearing loss
I
N MAY, QMU LAUNCHED a new
permanent display showcasing two
centuries of hearing aid technology,
including an early 20th century ear
trumpet, spectacle aid and a 1970s
conversation tube.
The unique display of 28 devices is not only a
celebration of advancements in digital hearing
aid technology, it is also helping audiologists at
QMU demonstrate how pioneering research is
having a positive impact on the lives of those
with hearing difficulties and deafness.
There are over one million people in Scotland
with some degree of hearing loss and an
estimated two million people across the UK
who use hearing aids. Every year in Scotland
around 75 children are born deaf, around five
of them with a severe to profound hearing loss.
There are also an estimated 3,000 children
and young people under 25 with severe to
profound hearing loss in Scotland.
Experts from the Clinical Audiology, Speech
and Language Research Centre at QMU were
joined by other researchers and practitioners,
including alumni, from across Scotland to help
launch the ‘Scottish Hearing Aid Collection’ of
over 100 devices. Experts also celebrated a
decade of audiology research and education
at QMU and discussed the positive impact this
pioneering research is having on the lives of
those with hearing difficulties and deafness.
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QMYOU / Development News
The Collection offers students and
practitioners in audiology and hearing aid
dispensing, as well as the wider public, a
unique insight into the two centuries of hearing
aid technology. It includes examples of some
the earliest acoustic devices, non-electrical
hearing aids.
The Scottish Hearing Aid Collection was
donated by Dr Robin Barr-Hamilton, who
helped set up the first Audiology programme at
QMU. The Collection is also sponsored by the
Oticon Foundation, the charitable foundation
of hearing aid manufacturer Oticon.
Dr Robin Barr-Hamilton, said: “Most of the
hearing aids in the collection were passed
to me by old colleagues, from Glasgow,
Manchester and elsewhere, who could not
bear to throw anything away. We are grateful for
that inability! My thanks go to Queen Margaret
University, and to the sponsor, who have seen
the historical value of, and educational potential
in, the resource. My hope is that the collection
will expand as the