Richard Dowell

After completing his initial studies at Carey Baptist Grammar School, Dowell studied at the University of Melbourne where he completed his Bachelor of Science in 1977, Graduate Diploma in Audiology in 1979, Masters in Audiology in 1989 and his Doctoral studies in 1991.

Dowell began his career as a Research Audiologist at the University of Melbourne Department of Otolaryngology in 1980 before being promoted to Lecturer of Audiology in 1989 and to Senior Lecturer in 1991. In 1995, Dowell was promoted to Associate Professor and then Professor of Audiology from 2001 till 2013. He was appointed the Graeme Clark Chair in Audiology and Speech Science in 2013.

At the university, Dowell was appointed as Head of the Department of Otolaryngology from 2005 till 2011, and for the Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology from 2012 till 2018.

Along with his academic career at University of Melbourne, Dowell has also held clinical and hospital appointments. He devised and implemented the initial clinical trial of the multichannel cochlear implant for adults, and established and directed the Cochlear Implant Clinic at the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital with Professor Graeme Clark.{{cite web|url=https://www.hearingcrc.org/news-events/hearing-crcs-cochlear-implant-research-showcased-international-journal-audiology-special-supplement/|title=HEARing CRC's cochlear implant research showcased in International Journal of Audiology Special Supplement}}

Dowell has conducted significant research on hearing impairment, particularly in relation to cochlear implants. He contributed to the development of many of the clinical procedures in the cochlear implant field and to signal processing improvements for these prostheses. Dowell was a key contributor to the first successful FDA approval of multi-channel cochlear implants in adults (1985) and children (1990).{{cite web|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378595514001403|title=The multi-channel cochlear implant: Multi-disciplinary development of electrical stimulation of the cochlea and the resulting clinical benefit}}

Dowell studied the psychophysical properties of electrical stimuli presented to cochlear implant patients with colleagues Graeme Clark, Yit Chow Tong, and Peter Blamey. These studies resulted in publications that established some of the fundamental basic science for electrical hearing.{{cite journal|url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.6823564|title=Two-component hearing sensations produced by two-electrode stimulation in the cochlea of a deaf patient|year=1983 |doi=10.1126/science.6823564 |last1=Tong |first1=Y. C. |last2=Dowell |first2=R. C. |last3=Blamey |first3=P. J. |last4=Clark |first4=G. M. |journal=Science |volume=219 |issue=4587 |pages=993–994 |pmid=6823564 |url-access=subscription }}

Dowell then devised the initial clinical trial of the first commercial multichannel cochlear implant resulting in FDA approval for adults with profound hearing loss in 1985.{{cite web|title=Results of a preliminary clinical trial on a multiple-channel cochlear prosthesis|hdl= 11343/27217|url= http://hdl.handle.net/11343/27217}}

With colleagues, Peter Seligman and Blamey, Dowell helped to develop the initial sound coding algorithms for the multichannel cochlear implant.{{cite journal|url=https://doi.org/10.1177%2F00034894870960S171|title= Evaluation of a Two-Formant Speech-Processing Strategy for a Multichannel Cochlear Prosthesis|year= 1987|doi= 10.1177/00034894870960S171|last1= Dowell|first1= R. C.|last2= Seligman|first2= P. M.|last3= Blamey|first3= P. J.|last4= Clark|first4= G. M.|journal= Annals of Otology, Rhinology & Laryngology|volume= 96|pages= 132–134|hdl= 11343/27246|s2cid= 33801394|hdl-access= free}}

Dowell, working with Blamey and others, established factors predictive of outcomes for adults who received cochlear implants.{{cite journal|url=https://doi.org/10.1177/000348949210100410|title=Factors Predicting Postoperative Sentence Scores in Postlinguistically Deaf Adult Cochlear Implant Patients|year=1992|doi=10.1177/000348949210100410|last1=Blamey|first1=Peter J.|last2=Pyman|first2=Brian C.|last3=Clark|first3=Graeme M.|last4=Dowell|first4=Richard C.|last5=Gordon|first5=Michael|last6=Brown|first6=Alison M.|last7=Hollow|first7=Rodney D.|journal=Annals of Otology, Rhinology & Laryngology|volume=101|issue=4|pages=342–348|pmid=1562140|hdl=11343/27352|s2cid=15119123|hdl-access=free}} This study was followed up in 2013 by Blamey and Dowell, with other colleagues, who collected data for 2251 adults who used cochlear implants to study the factors affecting auditory performance. The study found that the history and duration of hearing loss, age and other factors were associated with cochlear implant outcomes, but that no single factor had good predictive power.{{cite web|url=https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/343189|title=Factors Affecting Auditory Performance of Postlinguistically Deaf Adults Using Cochlear Implants: An Update with 2251 Patients}}

In 2006, Dowell with PhD student Mansze Mok, published a study to address the use of cochlear implants in conjunction with conventional hearing aids in the opposite ear. The study showed that acoustic hearing can provide complementary information to that provided by a cochlear implant and thus improve speech understanding.{{cite journal|url=https://pubs.asha.org/doi/abs/10.1044/1092-4388%282006/027%29?rfr_dat=cr_pub++0pubmed&url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori%3Arid%3Acrossref.org|title=Speech Perception for Adults Who Use Hearing Aids in Conjunction With Cochlear Implants in Opposite Ears|year=2006|doi=10.1044/1092-4388(2006/027)|last1=Mok|first1=Mansze|last2=Grayden|first2=David|last3=Dowell|first3=Richard C.|last4=Lawrence|first4=David|journal=Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research|volume=49|issue=2|pages=338–351|pmid=16671848|url-access=subscription}}

Dowell worked on identifying the factors affecting the speech perception scores among children using cochlear implants. A large sample of children using the Nucleus 22-electrode cochlear implant and having an average age of 5 years at the time of implantation were evaluated. Multivariate analysis identified six factors, including age at implantation, educational approach, progression of hearing loss and developmental delay that were predictive for speech perception scores.{{cite journal|url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18792108/|title= Speech perception in children using cochlear implants: prediction of long-term outcomes|year= 2002|pmid= 18792108|last1= Dowell|first1= R. C.|last2= Dettman|first2= S. J.|last3= Blamey|first3= P. J.|last4= Barker|first4= E. J.|last5= Clark|first5= G. M.|journal= Cochlear Implants International|volume= 3|issue= 1|pages= 1–18|doi= 10.1179/cim.2002.3.1.1|s2cid= 6178175}}

In the mid-2000s, Dowell, with colleague and wife Shani Dettman amongst others, studied the risks and benefits regarding the communication development of children who received cochlear implant surgery before 12 months of age. The study showed that spoken language acquisition for deaf children depended significantly on access to auditory input in their first year.{{cite web|url=https://journals.lww.com/ear-hearing/Fulltext/2007/04001/Background_and_Educational_Characteristics_of.4.aspx|title=Communication Development in Children Who Receive the Cochlear Implant Younger than 12 Months: Risks versus Benefits}}

Dowell has been involved in research into auditory neuropathy with colleague Gary Rance, that established the diagnostic and management procedures for this distinct type of hearing loss identified in the late 1990s.{{cite web|url=https://journals.lww.com/ear-hearing/Abstract/1999/06000/Clinical_Findings_for_a_Group_of_Infants_and_Young.6.aspx|title=Clinical Findings for a Group of Infants and Young Children with Auditory Neuropathy}}

Dowell has also been involved in research into the evaluation and management of vestibular disorders, the use of electrophysiological techniques in diagnostic audiology, and evaluation of hearing deficits of non-peripheral origin.

• The University of Melbourne-Nucleus Multi-Electrode Cochlear Implant (Advances in Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Vol. 38) 1987 {{ISBN|978-3805545754}}
• Cochlear Implantation for Infants and Children: Advances (1997) {{ISBN|9781565937277}}

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Category:Living people

Category:1957 births

Category:Audiologists

Category:University of Melbourne alumni

Category:Academic staff of the University of Melbourne