Ruth Y Litovsky, PhD

Research Interests

Dr. Litovsky’s translational research investigates cochlear implants, particularly with regard to the effect that bilateral cochlear implants have on the ability of patients to hear speech and localize sounds. Specifically, Dr. Litovsky’s lab studies emergence of spatial hearing abilities in young children through longitudinal investigations. The lab studies the ability of children to separate speech from competing sounds and identify source locations. Through various collaborations, these studies also focus on language acquisition (with Jenny Saffran and Susan Ellis-Weismer) and phonological awareness (with Jan Edwards). Another line of research with adults focuses on how to improve performance with bilateral devices that are not designed to be synchronized. Thus the lab studies binaural sensitivity using research processors, in the hope that a clinical binaural processor with a single digital signal processor can be implemented in the near future.