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Audibility, Perception and Cognition Laboratory

Our Research

The Audibility, Perception and Cognition Laboratory aims to understand how amplification, language and cognition support speech perception in children who are hard of hearing to maximize outcomes for children wearing hearing aids. We want 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.

Optimizing Hearing and Speech Outcomes for Children with Hearing Aids

Hearing aids worn by children are often designed for adults, without consideration for a child’s developing auditory skills. We work with children with and without hearing loss to better understand the factors that influence how children learn speech and learn language. Our goal is to set hearing aids optimally to improve the outcomes of children with hearing loss.

Our Research Lab

The Audibility, Perception and Cognition Laboratory 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.

Our Studies

FASTRAK Study
Our goal is to help audiologists determine when a child may benefit from hearing aids. To do that, we plan to develop clinical tools that can tell us when a child is experiencing difficulty and could benefit from a hearing aid.
Complex Listening Study
​​Some children who are har​d of hearing have trouble understanding in background noise, eve​n when hearing aids provide good audibility of speech. We are trying to understand how other factors, like a child’s ability to tell differences between sounds or how a child remembers and pays attention, affects their speech understanding in noisy places..
Speech Attention and Understanding in Noise Study
Some children who are har​d of hearing have trouble understanding in background noise, eve​n when hearing aids provide good audibility of speech.
Children's Skills Supporting Listening in Noise Study
The purpose of this study is to identify and understand what type of intervention can help children better understand in noisy environments, such as classrooms. Participants will be asked to repeat words and sentences in quiet and noisy situations and play memory and attention games. Hearing tests will be given to those who have not had one in the past six months.
Predicting Ear Anatomy in Children
The Audibility, Perception and Cognition Lab at Boys Town National Research Hospital is conducting a study to investigate if a child’s height and head circumference can help us to predict the size/shape of their ear and ear canal as they grow

Meet Our Staff

Ryan McCreery, Ph.D.
Director, Vice President of Research