Hearing-related Behavior and Its Relationship to Hearing Loss, Hearing Aid Use, and Social-emotional Health
Why are people with hearing loss at greater risk of depression and social isolation? How does hearing loss change how we engage with the world and how does this affect our social and emotional health? Can hearing aids reduce the risks of depression and social isolation in listeners with hearing loss? This study is investigating how auditory lifestyle and communication engagement changes with hearing loss and hearing aid use and the subsequent effects on mental health and well-being. This study will be recruiting in the spring of 2023.
Soundscape Experience and Listening Performance
What do people listen to in their daily lives? How do our experiences listening in the world affect how well we are able to listen? Can we get better at listening, especially in noisy places? This study is investigating what sounds comprise listeners’ lives and how the soundscapes listeners engage with in daily life affect their ability to listen efficiently in complex and noisy environments. This study is currently recruiting younger listeners (18-25) with normal hearing. Participation takes 2 visits to the lab, 1-week apart. In between lab visits, participants collect sound and survey data from their daily lives. If you’re interested, contact the lab: audlab@csd.wisc.edu
Optimizing Presets for Over-the-counter Hearing Aids
Over-the-counter hearing aids recently became legal in the US and are on the market. But when someone buys an over-the-counter hearing aid, how do they fit it themselves? How can we make sure these hearing aids have the right settings for most users? This study is working to design and test gain-frequency settings for over-the-counter hearing aids and efficient methods for users to find their preferred setting. This study is currently recruiting 55-85 year old listeners with hearing loss. You don’t need to be a current hearing aid user to participate. Participation takes about 2 hours. If you’re interested, contact the lab: audlab@csd.wisc.edu
Sound Classification Using Machine Learning
In addition to human subjects research, our lab also works on new methods for analyzing real-world data, particularly audio recordings and ecological momentary assessment data. We are currently working to improve artificial intelligence approaches for classifying the soundscapes of hearing aid users.