Where Hearing, Language, and Processing Meet with Cynthia Chan

The Overlooked Ototoxin: Workplace Solvents with Associate Prof. Adrian Fuente

Noise isn’t the only occupational threat to hearing. In this episode, Associate Professor Adrian Fuente discusses the ototoxic effects of organic solvents and other workplace chemicals, and why audiologists should be paying closer attention to this. We explore how solvents reach the cochlea via inhalation, their synergistic interaction with noise, and growing evidence of central auditory processing deficits in workers with normal audiograms. From broader frequency involvement to dichotic listening asymmetries and potential corpus callosum changes, this conversation challenges us to rethink the standard case history and hearing conservation model. A must-listen for clinicians working in occupational and adult audiology.

Living With Tinnitus: A Patient’s 17-Year Journey

During Tinnitus Awareness Week, I sat down with a patient who has lived with bilateral tinnitus for 17 years. In this interview, she shares what tinnitus really sounds like, from high-pitched ringing to Morse-code rhythms, and what triggers it, and what she wishes healthcare professionals had told her sooner. This episode sheds light on the lived experience of tinnitus and highlights the importance of early support, counselling, sound therapy, and informed choices.

Focused ultrasound as a treatment for Alzheimer's?

Alzheimer’s disease remains one of the hardest conditions to treat, with most therapies offering only modest benefit. In this episode, I explores a fascinating new study published in Brain Communications that investigates whether low-intensity focused ultrasound can safely modulate brain activity in people with Alzheimer’s disease. This episode breaks down why ultrasound may be more promising than drug-based treatments, what the researchers found in humans, and what further studies will be focusing on.

Will 2026 be the quiet rebrand of audiology?

Hearing care is undergoing a quiet shift from treating hearing loss to optimising how we listen. In this short episode of the Psychoaudiology Podcast, Priscilla explores how consumer technology like AirPods is blurring the line between everyday audio and hearing support, what this means for stigma, and how innovations such as Auracast are changing the listening demands of public spaces. Rather than asking individuals to work harder to hear, these developments point toward a future where sound is personalised, accessible, and cognitively kinder. A brief reflection on what 2026 may have in store as this generalising occurs, and what what could mean for audiologists.

Where Hearing, Language, and Processing Meet with Cynthia Chan

In this episode of the Psychoaudiology Podcast, Priscilla is joined by Cynthia Chan, an experienced speech and language therapist with training in both speech therapy and audiology. They explore the overlap between hearing, listening, language, and processing — and why being able to hear doesn’t always mean being able to understand. Together, they discuss listening fatigue, auditory processing challenges, assessment limitations, and when referrals between audiologists and speech and language therapists matter most. The conversation highlights how environment, language complexity, and acoustics shape communication, especially in classrooms, and why closer collaboration between professions can lead to better outcomes for clients. A thoughtful, interdisciplinary look at what it really means to support listening and communication.