Elizabeth Convery
Role: Project Leader/PhD Student
Bio
Elizabeth Convery is a senior research audiologist at the National Acoustic Laboratories. Her current research focuses on self-fitting hearing aids and the development of service delivery models to foster and support self-management skills among hearing-impaired adults. Elizabeth also maintains an active interest in humanitarian audiology, providing voluntary clinical services on outreach trips throughout northern Australia and the South Pacific.
Elizabeth obtained a Bachelor of Arts (first-class honours) in linguistics from the University of Calgary in 1997 and a Master of Science in communication disorders and sciences from California State University, Northridge in 2000. She joined the National Acoustic Laboratories in 2002 after two years with Australian Hearing in Darwin and country Victoria. She is a full member of the Audiological Society of Australia and holds the Certificate of Clinical Practice.
PhD title
Service delivery models for self-fitting hearing aids
PhD Project
Self-fitting hearing aids are standalone amplification devices that are designed to be fitted and fine-tuned by the user, rather than by a clinician. Self-fitting hearing aid research has, thus far, focused primarily on technological evaluations and the identification of personal characteristics of potential users that are likely to predict successful use and management. This project aims to develop and evaluate a service delivery model for the provision of self-fitting hearing aids that will integrate with the existing hearing health care system in Australia. The hypothesis is that a hearing health care delivery system that encourages client-centred, collaborative management of permanent hearing loss will enable self-fitting hearing aids to become a viable rehabilitation option for a segment of the adult hearing-impaired population.
