UCLA SPAPL Missions

• To understand the mechanisms involved in speech pattern recognition by the electrically stimulated auditory system, and further, the plasticity of the auditory cortex. • To develop assessment and training strategies that maximize speech recognition in adults and children fitted with a cochlear implant or a hearing aid. • To provide innovative auditory rehabilitation software to people with hearing problems based on the state-of-art AI technology and recent research findings in cochlear implants, hearing aid, speech and hearing science, language development, and auditory plasticity. UCLA SPAPL Research Projects NIH 1-R01-DC016883: Integration of acoustic and electric hearing within or across ears the goal of this project is to understand the mechanisms that underlie integration of residual acoustic hearing with electric hearing in the same ear (electric-acoustic stimulation), across ears (bimodal), or both. One specific experiment “Speech on Speech (SOS) Masking” under this project is to understand how nor - mal-hearing listeners and cochlear implant users with different hearing status (with or without contralateral HAs), age, and music experience may perform differently when the target speech is masked by different speech in realistic listening conditions. We are also interested at exploring whether auditory training (e.g., Angel Sound) can help CI users to improve performance under such difficult listening condi - tions or not. Different subject groups, including normal-hearing (NH) people, cochlear implant (CI) users, bimodal CI users, bilateral CI users, and CI users with single-sided deafness (SSD), are very welcome to participate in our research projects. Please contact Dr. Qian-Jie Fu at qfu@mednet.ucla.edu if you are interested at participating in our research projects and living within 1-hour driving distance from the fol - lowing two SPAP laboratory locations: • Download Lab: 2100 West Third Street, Suite 100, Los Angeles, CA 90057 • UCLA Campus: Department of Head & Neck Surgery, UCLA School of Medicine, 10833 Le Conte Ave. 62-113 CHS, Los Angeles, CA 90095 Eligibility for Participation: • NH listeners, CI users, bimodal CI users, bilateral CI users, SSD CI users. • English is the primary language. • Be at least 18 years old. • Living within 1-hour driving distance from Downtown or UCLA SPAPL locations. Contact Information: Qian-Jie Fu, Ph.D. at qfu@mednet.ucla.edu