Our Hearing and Balance labs support basic research efforts aimed at understanding hearing, promote translational clinical hearing research, and train early-stage hearing scientists in areas related to hearing, audiology, auditory development, and speech perception. Our researchers often work closely with audiologists and clinical colleagues to directly contribute to patient care.
Some of the questions we’re interested in are:
- How do our ears encode sound?
- How do our brains decipher speech in the presence of competing background noise?
- How do people who are hearing impaired understand speech and develop language skills?
- How can we improve hearing and communication outcomes for people with cochlear implants and/or hearing aids?
- How do visual and auditory systems work together to help us understand speech?
- How can we better understand vestibular physiology?
- How can we improve vestibular assessments for children?
- How can we improve treatment for vestibular problems such as chronic vertigo or BPPV?
