EFAS is partner in the European Research Project HearCom (Hearing in the Communication Society) which collects and provides information about hearing screening, diagnosis and rehabilitation across Europe.

Our society is strongly and increasingly communication-oriented. As much of this focuses on sound and speech, many people experience severe limitations in their activities, caused either by a hearing loss or by poor environmental conditions. The HearCom project aims at reducing these limitations in auditory communication.

The project consortium integrates the European high-level expertise on audiology, acoustics, speech technology, and ICT. The program has established a website to support this work, which is for members of the public, the professional caregiver and the engineering community shaping our products and environment.

HearCom attempts to structure the available knowledge of experts in audiology and communication acoustics, acquires new knowledge, and makes the knowledge accessible to various groups of people. The results will be disseminated in the form of models, software tools and demonstrations via the Internet.

For instance, telephone and the Internet are being used to offer individuals the opportunity to learn about their own hearing ability, to test their own hearing (tele-screening), and to listen through simulated hearing devices. The professional audiologist can consult databases and demonstration programmes on standardised tests, and on the effectiveness of signal
processing strategies. Professional acousticians and engineers are provided with models, software tools, and demonstrations to estimate the value of their acoustical design in terms of communication quality.

Please visit the HearCom website http://hearcom.eu to see detailed information about the project.