Audibility, Perception and Cognition Laboratory

​Dr. Ryan McCreery, PhD, is the director of the Audibility, Perception, and Cognition laboratory. Our research aims to describe how amplification, language and cognition support speech perception in children who are hard of hearing in effort to maximize outcomes for children wearing hearing aids. The goal of our research is to better understand how hearing loss impacts the ability of children to listen in classrooms, at home and in social environments where important communication takes place.

Hearing aids worn by children are often designed for adults, without consideration for a child’s developing auditory skills. The ability to temporarily store and process incoming auditory information, known as working memory, and knowledge about language can help to support listening in environments where the speech signal is degraded by noise and reverberation. Dr. McCreery explains more about the research being done in the Audibility, Perception, and Cognition laboratory in the video below.​

Facilities

Our lab facilities include multiple double-walled, sound-treated audiometric test booths. These booths are equipped with audiometers, immittance equipment and hearing aid verification systems. Listening environments are simulated through multiple speaker arrays controlled via MATLAB and Max custom software programs.