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Help Krysta to help others like you

  March 10, 2015

Krysta Callander is a PhD student in the Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, Australia and is investigating the impact of sound sensitivity on a global scale. She has created an online survey for people who experience this condition to help to identify the similarities and differences between hearing symptoms. This in turn will raise awareness of these auditory conditions and aid the diagnostic process. Information relating to Krysta's survey is shown below.

Are you sensitive to sounds? Do you have tinnitus or hyperacusis? If so, you can help increase our understanding of these conditions by participating in a worldwide anonymous online survey here: http://hearing.sollysweb.com

We are surrounded by noise every day –ticking clocks, traffic, the hum of your fridge – it’s everywhere! While many people can tune out the sounds of daily life most of the time, other people can have strong emotional and physical reactions to sounds. This experience is known as sound sensitivity and can take several forms including conditions such as tinnitus (ringing in the ears or head), hyperacusis, misophonia, noise annoyance, and phonophobia.

Our online survey investigates the impact of these conditions on hearing health, sense of wellbeing, and experience of sound. For some of these conditions this is the first study of its kind, and it is the first to compare sound sensitivities in a large global sample. The information we collect will help to characterize sound sensitivities by identifying the similarities and differences between hearing symptoms, which will help in raising awareness of these auditory conditions and aid the diagnostic process. In addition, we will be able to assess the impact of these conditions on a person’s health and wellbeing, which will provide future direction for research into underlying causes and possible treatments. You can read more about the survey and participate here: http://hearing.sollysweb.com

About the Researchers: Krysta Callander is a PhD student in the Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne, Australia who is investigating the psychological and neurobiological underpinnings of how we tune out sounds, and the impact sound sensitivities have on people’s wellbeing. Her research is supervised by Prof. Sarah Wilson and A.Prof Neil McLachlan, and forms part of a broader research program in the Music and Auditory Neuroscience research group (University of Melbourne) and the Centre for Music Mind & Wellbeing (Melbourne Neuroscience Institute). A National Health and Medical Research Council project grant from the Australian Government funds this research into tuning out sounds.

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