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Employee photo Helia Relaño Iborra

Helia Relaño Iborra

Scientist

“I would like us to reach a deeper understanding of how hearing health influences all other aspects of life and of the potentiality of hearing-care interventions that may improve the lives of individuals in a holistic way.”

What is your primary work area within Eriksholm Research Centre?

My research focuses on building and developing auditory models. Auditory models are tools that allow us to bridge the gap between the physical properties of sound and the behavioral responses elicited by them. Specifically, I focus on functional models that can accurately replicate listeners’ response to speech signals. At Eriksholm, my work will center around the individualization of speech perception models, such that we can learn more about how someone’s hearing status, their cognitive abilities and their mental state (e.g., in regard to motivation or fatigue) interact to shape their individual perception of speech. The goal is that the knowledge generated by these models can help us provide solutions for those listeners who are challenged when it comes to speech understanding.

What is your primary work area within Eriksholm Research Centre?

My research focuses on building and developing auditory models. Auditory models are tools that allow us to bridge the gap between the physical properties of sound and the behavioral responses elicited by them. Specifically, I focus on functional models that can accurately replicate listeners’ response to speech signals. At Eriksholm, my work will center around the individualization of speech perception models, such that we can learn more about how someone’s hearing status, their cognitive abilities and their mental state (e.g., in regard to motivation or fatigue) interact to shape their individual perception of speech. The goal is that the knowledge generated by these models can help us provide solutions for those listeners who are challenged when it comes to speech understanding.

What originally triggered you interest in the hearing care field?

I have always been interested in sound and communication. I studied telecommunications engineering in Spain, before deciding to move to Denmark to study acoustics. When I started, I was convinced that my future work would involve building powerful loudspeakers or designing music venues. The more I learned about what happens after the sound reaches a listener’s ear, the more I started to ask myself questions about the role of the sensory system in the perception and enjoyment of sound regardless (or in interaction with) the power of loudspeakers or the room design. With time, I found myself getting a lot of satisfaction from being in a field where humans and human experiences are in focus, and not just technology for technology’s sake. I have not looked back since.

What originally triggered you interest in the hearing care field?

I have always been interested in sound and communication. I studied telecommunications engineering in Spain, before deciding to move to Denmark to study acoustics. When I started, I was convinced that my future work would involve building powerful loudspeakers or designing music venues. The more I learned about what happens after the sound reaches a listener’s ear, the more I started to ask myself questions about the role of the sensory system in the perception and enjoyment of sound regardless (or in interaction with) the power of loudspeakers or the room design. With time, I found myself getting a lot of satisfaction from being in a field where humans and human experiences are in focus, and not just technology for technology’s sake. I have not looked back since.

What brought you to Eriksholm?

As a hearing researcher in Denmark knowing about Eriksholm is unavoidable. I have had the opportunity to collaborate with Eriksholm researchers in previous projects, such as the PUPILS project led by Dorothea Wendt. I have also participated in co-supervision of Ph.D. projects with Eriksholm researchers in my previous roles at the Technical University of Denmark. It was through these connections that the idea to build an industrial postdoc project that could place me within the Eriksholm structure came about. I, together with Johannes Zaar from Eriksholm and Laurel Carney from the University of Rochester, applied for funding to the William Demant Foundation and the Danish Innovation Foundation, which was granted and allowed me to join Eriksholm to continue developing my work on auditory modelling and speech perception.

What brought you to Eriksholm?

As a hearing researcher in Denmark knowing about Eriksholm is unavoidable. I have had the opportunity to collaborate with Eriksholm researchers in previous projects, such as the PUPILS project led by Dorothea Wendt. I have also participated in co-supervision of Ph.D. projects with Eriksholm researchers in my previous roles at the Technical University of Denmark. It was through these connections that the idea to build an industrial postdoc project that could place me within the Eriksholm structure came about. I, together with Johannes Zaar from Eriksholm and Laurel Carney from the University of Rochester, applied for funding to the William Demant Foundation and the Danish Innovation Foundation, which was granted and allowed me to join Eriksholm to continue developing my work on auditory modelling and speech perception.

What motivates you in your job?

I am primarily motivated by the search for knowledge. I am genuinely fascinated by the way our sensory systems shape perception, and by the theoretical and practical limits of how perception can be studied. I also feel grateful for working in a research field where the potential of improving human experience seems tangible, as compared to other scientific disciplines where the immediate impact might be harder to grasp. Finally, the interdisciplinarity inherent to hearing science, and the opportunities for collaboration and learning that this provides, make it hard to get bored of this job.

What motivates you in your job?

I am primarily motivated by the search for knowledge. I am genuinely fascinated by the way our sensory systems shape perception, and by the theoretical and practical limits of how perception can be studied. I also feel grateful for working in a research field where the potential of improving human experience seems tangible, as compared to other scientific disciplines where the immediate impact might be harder to grasp. Finally, the interdisciplinarity inherent to hearing science, and the opportunities for collaboration and learning that this provides, make it hard to get bored of this job.

What do you hope to achieve in the long run?

I hope we, as a scientific community, are able to better understand the nature of hearing difficulties, so that we can have strategies for prevention and compensation that can improve people’s lives in a meaningful way. Personally, I would love to see my work being used to explore the inner workings of the auditory system and to inspire individualized compensation strategies.

What do you hope to achieve in the long run?

I hope we, as a scientific community, are able to better understand the nature of hearing difficulties, so that we can have strategies for prevention and compensation that can improve people’s lives in a meaningful way. Personally, I would love to see my work being used to explore the inner workings of the auditory system and to inspire individualized compensation strategies.

What do you do in your spare time when you’re not working at Eriksholm?

A lot of my time outside of work is spent parenting and being with my family, but I also like spending time by myself reading, attending concerts and, as a recent development, doing gardening work. I also try to prioritize finding time to stay in touch with friends and family, whether over tea or a video call. I am interested in community building, so you can often find me in collective spaces organizing debates, participating in workshops, or volunteering at the bar or the DJ booth of a fundraising party.

What do you do in your spare time when you’re not working at Eriksholm?

A lot of my time outside of work is spent parenting and being with my family, but I also like spending time by myself reading, attending concerts and, as a recent development, doing gardening work. I also try to prioritize finding time to stay in touch with friends and family, whether over tea or a video call. I am interested in community building, so you can often find me in collective spaces organizing debates, participating in workshops, or volunteering at the bar or the DJ booth of a fundraising party.

What is the most exciting scientific breakthrough or invention in your time?

I am not sure if this counts as a scientific breakthrough or a technological advancement, but as a true millennial that grew up in parallel to the explosion of the internet, it still fascinates me how this technology has fundamentally changed the way we are as a society. We use it to communicate with others, to access information, to navigate the world. It has revolutionized human experience in ways we are still coming to terms with. Well, those photographs of dark holes that scientists were able to capture a few years back are pretty cool, too.

What is the most exciting scientific breakthrough or invention in your time?

I am not sure if this counts as a scientific breakthrough or a technological advancement, but as a true millennial that grew up in parallel to the explosion of the internet, it still fascinates me how this technology has fundamentally changed the way we are as a society. We use it to communicate with others, to access information, to navigate the world. It has revolutionized human experience in ways we are still coming to terms with. Well, those photographs of dark holes that scientists were able to capture a few years back are pretty cool, too.

What do you hope will happen in future science?

Above all, I hope science will provide knowledge and technology that can help limit our species’ harmful impacts on the planet’s ecosystem. In the coming years I hope we will see advances in green energy, technologies for the preservation and rehabilitation of natural heritage and better scientific communication that can counteract anti-scientific and negationist discourse. Specifically in hearing science, I would like us to reach a deeper understanding of how hearing health influences all other aspects of life and of the potentiality of hearing-care interventions that may improve the lives of individuals in a holistic way.

What do you hope will happen in future science?

Above all, I hope science will provide knowledge and technology that can help limit our species’ harmful impacts on the planet’s ecosystem. In the coming years I hope we will see advances in green energy, technologies for the preservation and rehabilitation of natural heritage and better scientific communication that can counteract anti-scientific and negationist discourse. Specifically in hearing science, I would like us to reach a deeper understanding of how hearing health influences all other aspects of life and of the potentiality of hearing-care interventions that may improve the lives of individuals in a holistic way.

Publications

To see related publications, please follow this link and type in the scientist’s name in the free text search field. The result shows publications by this scientist during collaboration with Eriksholm Research Centre and/or with relevance to current work.

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Relaño-Iborra, H., Wendt, D., Neagu, M., Kressner, A. A., Dau, T., & Bækgaard, P. (2022). Baseline pupil size encodes task-related information and modulates the task-evoked response in a speech-in-noise task. Trends in Hearing, 26, 233121652211340. https://doi.org/10.1177/23312165221134003

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