Cristina Manteca-Gacho, M.A.

Cristina Manteca Gacho is a doctoral student under the mentorship of Erik Jorgensen. She holds a Master’s degree in Hispanic Linguistics from University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) and a Master of Arts in Spanish from Auburn University. Cristina earned her bachelor’s in Teaching and Special Education from Alcalá de Henares University and then received the Benjamin Franklin Scholarship that sponsored her graduate studies in the US. While working on a listening effort project, she realized there is a significant gap in our understanding of how older hearing aid users perceive noisy environments. She is currently developing a research project using PHL devices and smartphones to better understand the demands of their listening experiences in real life settings.