Congress of the Nordic Audiological Society

Congress of the Nordic Audiological Society

Musiikkitalo, Helsinki, 31.5. – 3.6.2026

Sunday, 31st May, 2026

16:30-18:30 Registration, Musiikkitalo
17:00-19:30 Guided walking tours

Monday, 1st June, 2026

08:00-09:00 Registration

09:00-09:10 Opening remarks

09:10-10:45 Session 1: Hearing Rehabilitation
Do we need REM? – The main results of the BREM-study.
Laura Ihalainen, Kuopio University Hospital, Finland

Digits-in-Noise Testing: Advances Driving Clinical and Digital Hearing Care
De Wet Swanepoel, University of Pretoria, South Africa

Optimizing clinical hearing rehabilitation pathways
Jukka Kokkonen, North Karelian Central Hospital

10:45-11:30 Coffee & exhibition

11:30-12:45 Session 2: Recent Advances in Cochlear Implantation
Preoperative and postoperative assessment in cochlear implantation for single-sided deafness
Thomas Wesarg, Medical Center – University of Freiburg, Germany

Intraoperative Electrical Measurements – A Dialogue Between the Surgeon and an Engineer
Saku Sinkkonen and Ville Sivonen, Helsinki University Hospital, Finland

Cochlear implantation: quality of life and cost-effectiveness
Matti Iso-Mustajärvi, Kuopio University Hospital, Finland

12:45-13:45 Lunch & exhibition

13:45-14:45 Session 3: Poster session

14:45-15:30 Coffee & exhibition

15:30-17:10 Session 4: Music, Hearing and Cognition
Music Medicine in Finland
Miikka Peltomaa, Helsinki, Finland

Music perception in cochlear implanta patients
Daniel Hofer, MED-EL

Efficacy and neural mechanisms of music in ageing-related neurological disorder
Teppo Särkämö, University of Helsinki

19:00-20:30 Welcome reception - hosted by the city of Helsinki

Tuesday, 2nd June, 2026

07:30-08:00 Registration

08:00-09:00 Acoustics: Concert Hall, Concert hall acoustics
Concert hall acoustics/organ demonstration
Aleksanteri Wallius

Acoustics of Concert Halls
Tapio Lokki, Aalto University, Finland

09:00-09:45 Coffee, exhibition & posters

09:45-11:45 Session 5: Hearing Loss and Cognition
Cognition and lifestyle interventions
Miia Kivipelto, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden

Hearing Loss and Hearing Aid Use in Dementia: Prevalence and Neuropsychiatric Associations (NACC Study)
Carrie Nieman, Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, USA

Cognitive profile of patients referred for hearing rehabilitation – insights from the HAHA-study
Aarno Dietz, Kuopio University Hospital, Finland

Creating understanding together: the role of co-participants in interaction involving persons with dementia
Camilla Lindholm, University of Tampere, Finland

11:45-12:45 Lunch & exhibition

12:45-14:30 Session 6: Brain Imaging

Introduction to Auditory Neuroimaging
Satu Lamminmäki, Helsinki University Hospital, Finland

Cross-Sectional Associations of Peripheral Hearing, Brain Imaging, and Cognitive Performance With Speech-in-Noise Performance
Carrie Nieman, Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, USA

Cortical processing of speech in noise in healthy aging and mild cognitive impairment
Mia Liljeström, Aalto University, Finland

14:30-15:15 Coffee, exhibition & posters

15:15-17:00 Session 7: Speech in Noise Tests - from Research to Clinical Practice

Testing speech recognition in noise with the digits-in-noise test in the clinic: why and how?
Cas Smits, Amsterdam UMC, Netherlands

Speech-in-noise testing as a biomarker for cognitive decline – Results from the Apollo Study
Aarno Dietz, Kuopio University Hospital, Finland

19:00-22:00 Gala Dinner

Wednesday, 3rd June, 2026

08:30-09:00 Registration

09:00-10:00 Session 8: Patient Organizations in Nordic Counties
Patient organizations: psycho-social support
Maija Nielsson, Svenska Hörselbundet, Finland

10:00-10:30 Coffee & exhibition

10:30-12:00 Session 9: Digital Health Promotion
Digital healthcare and decision support solutions: where are we going?
Mark van Gils, Tampere University, Finland

Using digital technologies to improve access to hearing health
De Wet Swanepoel, University of Pretoria, South Africa

User-Operated Audiometry in Hearing Aid Fitting
Carl Pedersen, University of Southern Denmark, Denmark