Lorna Halliday

My research focuses on hearing disorders in children and their relationship with language development. My research currently falls along two strands. First, I am interested in how the brain processes sound, how this skill develops over childhood, and how so-called auditory processing is affected by disorders including otitis media with effusion (glue ear), sensorineural hearing loss, and auditory processing disorder. Second, my research examines the relationship between hearing and language development over time. Questions include, “what aspects of hearing are important for the development of normal language?” and “how is language development affected in children with hearing disorders?”. I currently hold an MRC Senior Fellowship in Hearing Research, which will see us embarking upon the first UK-based longitudinal cohort study looking at outcomes in children with hearing loss who were identified as part of the newborn hearing screening programme. I use a range of different techniques, including psychophysics, psychometrics, and electrophysiology.