Arezoo Talebzadeh

My research investigates the intersection of the acoustic environment, the built environment, and sustainable health, with a specific focus on older adults living with dementia in residential care settings. Drawing on a transdisciplinary framework that integrates architectural practice, psychoacoustics, and clinical neuroscience, this work examines how purposefully designed sonic environments (soundscape augmentation) can serve as non-pharmacological interventions to mitigate the behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD).
Through a pilot randomized controlled trial (NCT04809545) conducted at a specialized dementia care unit in Toronto, this research demonstrates that augmented soundscapes significantly reduce resistance-to-care behaviours, a domain of BPSD with profound implications for both resident dignity and caregiver burden. Psychoacoustic analysis of 218 sound fragments further identifies measurable acoustic parameters (most notably spectral sharpness) as reliable predictors of positive behavioural responses, providing an empirically grounded basis for sound selection that transcends subjective expert preference.
Aligned with AIRS's commitment to advancing knowledge on sound environments and sustainable health, my research bridges clinical outcomes, environmental design practice, and auditory processing to set evidence-based guidelines for therapeutic acoustic spaces. It supports AIRS's goals of preventing noise-related harm and advancing soundscape research from an auditory deficit perspective. I focus on cognitively vulnerable populations, for whom adverse acoustic environments have severe consequences.