Research Participants

Studies in adults with normal hearing or cochlear implants

The goal of our studies is to understand listeners' perception of signals transmitted by the cochlear implant by the brain. You may be asked to identify subtle differences between sounds, or compare the loudness or pitch of different sounds, or identify a talker's emotion. Some participants may be asked to read aloud a few simple sentences and be audio taped with their consent.

Participants will receive $15/hour for their participation in each 3-hour session. For adult cochlear implant recipients who travel a long distance to participate in the study, in addition to travel expenses we are also happy to set up hotel accommodations if you choose to stay in Omaha for the study. In this case, we usually ask for 3-4 days of participation and study sessions may be as long as 6 hours in duration, with breaks as needed.

You may be eligible for our studies if:

• You are 19 to 75 years of age
• You have normal hearing, a cochlear implant, or wear hearing aids.

For more information, please call us at (531) 355-5005 or email Mr. Aditya Kulkarni at  Aditya.Kulkarni@boystown.org. 

Studies in school-age children with normal hearing or with cochlear implants

Our studies investigate children's ability to discriminate sounds and speech through the cochlear implant. The experiments involve listening to brief tones, beeps or speech samples. Children may be asked to listen to sentences and judge the speaker's emotion. Some child participants may be asked to read aloud a few simple sentences and be audio taped, with consent.

Child participants will receive $15/hour for their participation in each 2-hour session. For families who travel a long distance to participate in the study, in addition to travel expenses, we are also happy to set up hotel accommodations if you choose to stay in Omaha for the study. In this case, we usually ask for 3-4 days of participation across different labs at BTNRH.

You may be eligible for these studies if:

• You are 6 to 18 years of age
• You have normal hearing, a cochlear implant or wear hearing aids

For more information, please call us at (531) 355-5005 or email Mr. Aditya Kulkarni at  Aditya.Kulkarni@boystown.org.