Film director launches pioneering hearing research

PA303/10 Film director Ken Loach has officially opened a new research lab which explores pioneering ways of improving communication between parents and children with hearing difficulties. The Family Lab is part of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Unit in Hearing, a partnership between The University of Nottingham, Nottingham University Hospitals Trust and the Medical Research Council Institute for Hearing Research. Based at Ropewalk House in Nottingham city centre, the Family Lab films interaction between parents and their children - and uses the footage to examine moments of successful communication. Even if this is a single frame of film showing body or facial expressions, the evidence is taken, worked on and the parent uses it to develop their own skills. This helps parents to have confidence in their own ability to communicate with their child. Dr Deborah James, who is leading the research at the Family Lab, said: "For most parents, the diagnosis of deafness in their baby comes out of the blue and is very stressful - they worry about how to communicate with their baby who can't hear them. "We are embarking on a major programme of work to explore the biological, psychological and social basis for this film-based intervention which parents find empowering.