Jenny Loo

Associate Professor Jenny Loo

Programme Director – MSc Audiology
Division of Graduate Medical Studies
Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine

Office: NUS Block MD7 Level 3.
Email: entlhy@nus.edu.sg
Tel: (65) 6601-3615

 

Dr Jenny Loo obtained her Master of Science in Audiology (Distinction) from the University of Southampton, United Kingdom, in 2004. She was awarded the National Medical Research Council (NMRC) Research Scientist Fellowship in 2007 to pursue her PhD at the Ear Institute, University College London, United Kingdom. Her PhD research area was in auditory neuroscience under the supervision of Prof Doris Bamiou, who is world-renowned for her work surrounding central auditory processing disorder. 

Dr Loo is an Associate Professor with the NUS School of Medicine, where she played an instrumental role in starting the inaugural MSc Audiology course in Singapore in 2013. Currently, she is the Programme Director for this postgraduate Audiology programme. Other than teaching Audiology students, she is also involved in teaching Speech and Language Pathology students at NUS as well as at the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT).

Dr Loo is not only an educator but a researcher. She has a wide range of research interests in the areas of auditory brain processing, paediatric hearing impairment, and population hearing health. She has published numerous research papers in international peer-reviewed journals and had held a few grants in the past as principal investigator. She also supervises students for research at MSc and PhD levels.

Clinically, Dr Loo has a joint appointment at the ENT-Head & Neck Surgery department, National University Hospital (NUH) as a Senior Principal Audiologist. Dr Loo has extensive clinical experience assessing and managing children with hearing loss. One of her areas of clinical expertise is in cochlear implant management, and she is also well sought-after for her expertise in the diagnosis of Central Auditory Processing Disorders in children at the national and international levels.

Dr Loo is one of the pioneer audiologists in Singapore; currently leading the biggest clinical audiology team in this country. Her passion for audiology extends beyond her clinical skill. She champions the community audiology projects, helping the department to expand audiological services in the community through Mobile Hearing Clinics and Satellite Hearing Clinics.

At the national level, Dr Loo is appointed as the chairperson for the Allied Health Professional (Audiology) panel at the Ministry of Health (2016 till present), overseeing the development of audiologist professionals, and promoting hearing health and public awareness in Singapore.

MSc Audiology

  • Anatomy & Physiology (Brain anatomy)
  • Hearing Devices & Rehabilitation (Cochlear implant)
  • Paediatric Audiology
  • Experimental Design & Statistics

Others

  • Adult Hearing Screening course
  • Central auditory processing disorder in children
  • Central auditory processing disorder in stroke patients
  • Hearing loss and stroke
  • Cochlear implantation
  • Paediatric hearing loss
  • Population hearing health through community audiology
  • Project director for the NUHS Community Hearing Services. In addition to the existing mobile hearing clinic (MHC) that is offering hearing care services to adult patients in a moving vehicle, the NUH community audiology team is piloting a proof-of-concept model of mobile audiology team (MAT) at various polyclinics within the western cluster of Singapore. This MAT model incorporates the NUS boothless audiometry method, allowing more hearing care services to be delivered conveniently in community setting.
  • PI for current student projects: A retrospective study:
    1. Can Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR) be used as an early biomarker for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in children?
    2. Patient satisfaction survey on hybrid tele-audiology service post-COVID pandemic.
    3. Outcome of a pilot hearing screening protocol for pre-schoolers with speech delay seen at Child Development Unit (CDU) NUH.
  1. Loo JHY, Bamiou DE, Campbell N, Luxon LM. Computer-based auditory training (CBAT): benefits for children with language-and reading-related learning difficulties. Dev Med Child Neurol 2010; 52(8): 708-717.
  2. Goll JC, Crutch SJ, Loo JH, Rohrer JD, Frost C, Bamiou DE, Warren JD. Non-verbal sound processing in the primary progressive aphasias. Brain. 2010 Jan; 133(Pt 1):272-285.
  3. Loo JHY, Bamiou DE, Rosen S. The impact of language background and language-related disorders in auditory processing. J Speech Language & Hearing Research, 2013 Feb; 56(1):1-12.
  4. Loo JHY, Rosen S, Bamiou DE. Auditory training effects on the listening skills of children with auditory processing disorder. Ear Hear 2016 Feb; 37(1): 38-47.
  5. Looi V, Lee ZZ, Loo JH. Quality of life outcomes for children with hearing impairment in Singapore. Int J Ped Otorhinolaryngology. 2016 Jan; 80(1): 88-100
  6. Looi, V; Wong YH, Loo H.Y.J. The Effects of Training on Music Perception and Appreciation for Cochlear Implant Recipients. Advances in Otolaryngology, vol. 2016, Article ID 6286514, 12 pages, 2016. doi:10.1155/2016/6286514
  7. Lim MYL, Loo JHY. Screening an elderly hearing impaired population for mild cognitive impairment using Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2018 Ju; 33(7): 972-979.
  8. Gyanwali B, Hilal S, Venketasubramanian N, Chen C, Loo J.H.Y. Hearing Handicap in Asian Patients With Dementia. Am J Otolaryngol. Mar-Apr 2020;41(2):102377
  9. Gupta P, Man REK, Fenwick EK, Aravindhan A, Gan AT, Thakur S, Soh BLP, Wood JM, Black AA, Chan A, Ng D, Hean TK, Goh E, Mary CF, Loo J, Forde CG, Sabanayagam C, Cheng CY, Wong TY, Lamoureux EL. Rationale and Methodology of The PopulatION HEalth and Eye Disease PRofile in Elderly Singaporeans Study [PIONEER]. Aging Dis. 2020 Dec 1;11(6):1444-1458.
  10. Lim Z.H., Soo Y.P., Loo, J.H.Y. Clinical profiles of patients referred to an ear, nose and throat specialist clinic via community mobile hearing clinic in Singapore. Proceedings of Singapore Healthcare. 2020 Dec. https://doi.org/10.1177/2010105820979322.
  11. Ho KC, Fenwick EK, Gupta P, Gan A, Loo JH, Ma L, Koh G, Wong TY, Lamoureux EL, Man RE. Prevalence, Associated Factors and Health-related Quality of Life of Dual Sensory Impairment in Residential Care Facilities in Singapore. Ophthalmic Epidemiol. 2021 May 17;1-9.
  12. Soh, K.W., Loo, J.H.Y. A Review of Mandarin Speech Recognition Test Materials for Use in Singapore. Int J Audiol, 2021 Jun;60(6): 399-41.
  13. Chee, J., Kuah, D., Loh, W.S. Loo, J.H.Y., Goh X.Y. Diabetes is a Risk Factor for Hearing Loss in Older Adults: Results of a Community Screening Programme. Clinical Otolaryngology. Article DOI: 10.1111/coa.13877
  14. Tang, J. Z.T., Ng, P.G., Loo, J.H.Y. Do all infants with congenital hearing loss meet the 1-3-6 criteria? A study of a 10-year cohort from a universal newborn hearing screening programme in Singapore. Int J Audiol. 2022 Jul 13:1-10. doi: 10.1080/14992027.2022.2095537.
  • Senior Principal Audiologist, Department of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery, National University Hospital, Singapore
  • Chairman of the MOH Allied Health Panel for Audiology, Singapore
  • Member, Society for Audiology Professionals (Singapore) (SAPS)