The AURA Study: A biomarker study of stress

How stressed are you?

We know that people who have hearing difficulties often experience more stress in their lives because of their hearing problems.

The AURA study will help in two ways:

First, it will identify if cortisol is a good biomarker for stress in people with hearing loss. Second, we will be able to better understand how cortisol relates to hearing-related stress and difficulties.

The more people who get involved the better our results will be,

and the more we will be able to understand the stress, anxiety and depression experienced by people with any type of hearing difficulty.

If you decide you don't want to take part once you have joined the study, you can stop or give up at any point without having to give a reason.

Please get in touch if you have any questions or want to get involved in any way. Our contact details are in the “Get in touch” section.

About the AURA study

Who can join the aura study?

Any adult can join (16+ years).

Why is this study important?

This study will help us to understand the stress experienced by people with hearing difficulties, but you can participate if you don't have any hearing difficulties.

What do I need to do if I want to take part?

There are TWO parts to the study:

THE SURVEY: This will take about 15 minutes to complete. It will ask you about your lifestyle, health, well-being, anxiety, depression and stress levels. These are the things that can affect the cortisol levels in your hair. All of the results will be made anonymous, so anyone taking part can be completely honest and know that they cannot be identified.
HAIR DONATION: To take part you need to give a small sample of hair (about half a pencil width) after the survey but within a day or two of taking the survey.

Why do we need your hair sample?

We will measure your hair cortisol levels which is a measure of stress levels over time. 1cm contains 1 month of stress hormone, cortisol. It is very important to cut as close to the root as possible and please choose a part that's in the middle and at the back of the head so we can get the best results. It won't leave a bald spot. You will also need to wrap the hair in foil and put it into a labelled envelope (with your name and the date you took the sample) as sunlight can affect cortisol levels.

This 3 minute youtube video will show you how to donate a small hair sample.

Please click the video below to view. Subtitles are available on the video and you can also download written instructions here. There is also a copy of this video and the written instuctions at the end of the survey.

What do I do next if I want to take part?

Please click this link or on the following button to take part:

Take part now!

We will contact you again in 3 months and then 6 months to ask you to repeat the survey and donate another sample of hair.

The AURA team

The AURA study is run from the Nottingham Hearing Biomedical Research Centre at the University of Nottingham. This centre has an excellent track record in hearing research.

Get in touch

If you have any questions or ideas about the AURA study we would love to hear from you.