Program

Get ready for the Audiology Australia Online Conference – two dynamic half-days of learning, connection, and inspiration. 

Join us live on Thursday 15 October (3:30–8 PM AEDT) and Friday 16 October (11 AM – 3:30 PM AEDT). Your registration gives you full access to every session across both days – plus the flexibility to catch up later. 

All content will be available on demand until 31 January 2027, so you can watch, rewatch, and claim your CPD points at a time that suits you. 

All times are listed in AEDT (ACT/NSW/TAS/VIC). For more information on CPD points for the Online Conference, please click here.

Program

Overview

Thursday 15 October

3:30–3:35 PM 

Welcome and Introduction

3:35–4:15 PM 

Hearing Intervention and Cognitive Health: Understanding the Latest Evidence

Presented by Adj A/Prof Dona Jayakody

4:15–4:55 PM 

Early Intervention and Long-Term Outcomes: What the Latest Evidence Tells Us

Presented by Prof Teresa Ching

4:55–5:30 PM 

The Dizzy Client in Your Clinic: Red Flags and Referral Decisions

5:30–6 PM 

Networking and Break

Join a networking chat with other delegates before the next session starts!

6–7 PM 

Complex Fittings, Practical Solutions: A Clinical Case Discussion

Explore real-world cases where hearing aid fittings did not achieve the expected outcome. This case-based discussion brings together experienced clinicians to unpack complex fittings, examine the decisions made along the way and share practical strategies for achieving better client outcomes.

7–8 PM 

The Psychosocial Impact of Hearing Loss: Differences Between Age Groups and Hearing Device Users

Presented by Dr Sophia Kramer

Since 2006, we have been studying the relationship

between hearing loss and psychosocial health within our National Longitudinal Study on Hearing (NL-SH), which includes more than 3,000 adults. Through this study, we have discovered that the psychosocial impact of hearing loss differs between different age groups. Recently, we have conducted a new series of studies into the well-being of people with hearing loss in the workplace. We specifically focused on differences between people with normal hearing, hearing aid users and cochlear implant users. The findings shed light on a possible key role for psychosocial care in supporting people with hearing loss.

Friday 16 October

11–11:05 AM 

Welcome and Introduction

11:05 AM–11:30 AM 

Gene Therapy for Paediatric Hearing Loss: What Every Audiologist Needs to Know

Presented by Dr Eliot Shearer (pre-recorded)

Gene therapy for paediatric hearing loss has moved from concept to clinical reality, and this presentation gives audiologists a practical guide to what that shift means for their clients. Drawing on early results from international OTOF gene therapy trials, including the first published U.S.-sponsored study, the talk walks through how genetic diagnosis, vector design, and surgical delivery come together to restore hearing in children born with profound sensorineural hearing loss. Attendees will leave with a clear picture of where gene therapy fits alongside cochlear implants today, why early and accurate genetic diagnosis is now essential to identifying candidates for these trials, and what open questions remain as the field expands beyond OTOF to other genetic causes of hearing loss. This session offers a timely, clinically grounded look at one of the most significant developments in paediatric hearing health care.

11:30 AM–12 PM 

The Aussie Ear Bank: Building the Foundation for Future Hearing Treatments

Presented by Dr Christo Bester

12–1 PM 

Lost in Transition: Rethinking Paediatric-to-Adult Hearing Healthcare Pathways Through Youth Voices

Presented by Jermy Pang

1–1:30 PM 

Networking and Break

Join a networking chat with other delegates before the next session starts!

1:30–2:30 PM 

What Shapes the Decision to Try Hearing Aids? Understanding the Barriers and Enablers

Presented by Dr Julia Sarant

2:30–3:30 PM 

From Evidence to Intervention: New Directions in Tinnitus Care

Presented by Prof Grant Searchfield

This session will explore recent developments in tinnitus assessment and intervention, including the role of hearing aids, cognitive approaches and emerging digital treatment options. Grant will share practical insights into how audiologists can translate the latest evidence into improved care for adults experiencing tinnitus.

Meet The Speakers

Meet Sophia

Dr. Sophia E. Kramer, neuropsychologist, is Professor of Auditory Functioning and Participation and Co-Director of the Ear and Hearing Research lab at the Dept. of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery of the Amsterdam University Medical Center, The Netherlands. Prof. Kramer’s research examines the determinants and consequences of adult hearing impairment.

In 2006, she established the Netherlands Longitudinal Study on Hearing (NL-SH), providing important insights into how hearing loss affects psychosocial health, participation, and everyday functioning.

DR SOPHIA KRAMER

Amsterdam University Medical Center

Meet Sophia

Dr Sophia E. Kramer, neuropsychologist, is Professor of Auditory Functioning and Participation and Co-Director of the Ear and Hearing Research lab at the Dept. of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery of the Amsterdam University Medical Center, The Netherlands. Prof Kramer’s research examines the determinants and consequences of adult hearing impairment.

In 2006, she established the Netherlands Longitudinal Study on Hearing (NL-SH), providing important insights into how hearing loss affects psychosocial health, participation, and everyday functioning.

Meet Grant

Professor Grant D Searchfield has been an audiologist since 1994 and obtained his Doctorate in Audiology in 2004. He is the Head of the Audiology Section at the University of Auckland, scientific director of Tinnitus Tunes and TrueSilence Therapeutics (tinnitus treatment companies), and deputy director of the Eisdell Moore Centre for hearing and balance research. Grant is a primary investigator in Auckland University’s Centre for Brain Research and Te Tītoki Mataora MedTech Research Translator. He is the tinnitus section editor for Frontiers in Audiology and Otology, an associate editor for Scientific Reports and Frontiers in Neuroscience and Psychology. Grant is well known internationally for his research investigating the use of sound and hearing aids for tinnitus management.

PROF GRANT SEARCHFIELD

University of Auckland

Meet Grant

Professor Grant D Searchfield has been an audiologist since 1994 and obtained his Doctorate in Audiology in 2004. He is the Head of the Audiology Section at the University of Auckland, scientific director of Tinnitus Tunes and TrueSilence Therapeutics (tinnitus treatment companies), and deputy director of the Eisdell Moore Centre for hearing and balance research. Grant is a primary investigator in Auckland University’s Centre for Brain Research and Te Tītoki Mataora MedTech Research Translator. He is the tinnitus section editor for Frontiers in Audiology and Otology, an associate editor for Scientific Reports and Frontiers in Neuroscience and Psychology. Grant is well known internationally for his research investigating the use of sound and hearing aids for tinnitus management.

Meet Eliot

Eliot Shearer, MD PhD, is a paediatric otolaryngologist at Boston Children's Hospital specialising in hearing loss evaluation, cochlear implantation, and cochlear gene therapy surgery. He leads the Translational Hearing Genomics Lab, using exome, genome, and long-read sequencing to diagnose genetic hearing loss. Dr Shearer serves as site Principal Investigator for two sponsored gene therapy clinical trials for hearing loss.

DR ELIOT SHEARER

Boston Children's Hospital & Harvard Medical School

Meet Eliot

Eliot Shearer, MD PhD, is a paediatric otolaryngologist at Boston Children's Hospital specialising in hearing loss evaluation, cochlear implantation, and cochlear gene therapy surgery. He leads the Translational Hearing Genomics Lab, using exome, genome, and long-read sequencing to diagnose genetic hearing loss. Dr Shearer serves as site Principal Investigator for two sponsored gene therapy clinical trials for hearing loss.