The Academy of Rehabilitative Audiology (ARA) is pleased to announce the 2025 Herbert J. Oyer Award Scholarship, recognizing outstanding student research in the field of aural rehabilitation (AR). This award supports students in academic programs (e.g., audiology, communication sciences and disorders, speech-language pathology) by providing an opportunity to showcase their research in AR and connect with ARA members at the Institute.

Herbert J. Oyer Award Scholarship 2025 Winners

Methods: Semi-structured patient interviews were conducted with 12 adult sequentially-implanted bilateral CI users and 4 bilateral candidates (i.e., bimodal hearing individuals who are in the process of getting a second CI). Patients were recruited using a purposive sampling strategy and ranged in their respective speech recognition abilities and age (42-80 years old). All patients had >1 year of CI experience with their first CI. Interviews were transcribed and thematically coded 

Results: Thematic analyses revealed that individual (e.g., first CI satisfaction), organizational (e.g., the audiologist making the patient aware that a second CI is an option), and interpersonal (e.g., family and/or spousal support) factors were all significant drivers of second CI uptake. Furthermore, findings demonstrated commonalities in primary motivating factors of getting a second CI. Specifically, four distinct patient profiles were identified: 1) low hearing aid satisfaction prior to their first CI; 2) high-performing first CI users; 3) poor-performing first CI users; and 4) decrease in hearing-aid-ear function over time after the first CI. Moreover, the following themes were identified when patients were asked to describe the experience of going from bimodal hearing to bilateral CIs: 1) music enjoyment; 2) audibility of environmental sounds; 3) localization and balance of sound; 4) social and emotional experiences; 5) aural rehabilitation with the second CI; and 6) patient recommendations for improvements in counseling. 

Conclusions: By documenting the second CI experience using qualitative methods, novel insights into the patient perspective are provided. These descriptions will aid clinicians in counseling and identification of potential bilateral candidates by better understanding the needs and experiences of adult CI users. The following findings provide preliminary data for the development of a Shared Decision-Making tool for patients considering second CIs.

Methods: A total of 317 college students were involved ages 18-32 years with bilaterally self- reported TH. Participants completed tasks via a Qualtrics link online, beginning with a validated online hearing screening. The tasks include one validated self-report hearing evaluation questionnaire (15-item Speech, Spatial, and Qualities of Hearing Scale; 15iSSQ), evaluation of five personality traits (Big Five Model: Neuroticism, Openness, Extraversion, Conscientiousness, Agreeableness), and one behavioral hearing in noise test (i.e., digit-in-noise; DIN) at three SNRs (i.e., -9, -12, -15 dB). Participants also completed a self-report listening effort questionnaire (NASA Task Load Index; NASA-TLX) at each SNR. The Spearman correlation models were used to explore the relationships among the four factors. 

Results: Spearman correlation analysis revealed that the 15iSSQ was significantly positively correlated with conscientiousness (r = 0.16) and negatively correlated with neuroticism (r = -0.21), but showed no significant associations with the other three traits. No significant correlations were found between personality traits and DIN scores at any of the three SNRs (p > 0.05). For the relationship between personality traits and NASA-TLX scores, only neuroticism was significantly correlated with DIN scores at -12 (r = 0.12) and -15 dB SNR (r = 0.17); all other correlations were nonsignificant (p > 0.05). Additionally, the 15iSSQ was significantly correlated with NASA-TLX scores at -9 (r = -0.15) and -12 dB SNR (r = -0.15) but not with DIN scores or NASA-TLX at -15 dB SNR (p > 0.05). 

Conclusions: Levels of conscientiousness and neuroticism may account for self-reported hearing difficulty. Further explorations of how personality traits are associated with behavioral and listening effort measures as well as hearing device adoption are necessary to provide better individualized hearing care and service.

Award Benefits

The recipient of the Herbert J. Oyer Award Scholarship will: 

• A $300 award in recognition of their outstanding research 

• Present their AR-related research at the 2025 Institute 

• Receive complimentary membership in ARA for the 2026 calendar year, which includes free registration for the 2026 Institute

Eligibility Criteria

• Applicants must be currently enrolled in or have graduated within one year from an academic program related to AR. This includes Doctor of Audiology, Communication Sciences and Disorders, and Speech-language Pathology degree programs. 

• Research must be related to aural (re)habilitation

• The recipient must be able to attend and present their research at the 2025 Institute

Nomination and Application Process

To nominate a student or apply for the Herbert J. Oyer Award, please submit the following: 

1. A brief nomination or self-nomination statement 

2. A research abstract that summarizes the study, its significance to AR, and findings (500 words) 

3. A CV or resume.

The submission deadline is now closed. Deadline was July 15, 2025