Department of Surgery
University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health

Ruth Y Litovsky, PhD

Professor

  • Division of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery

litovsky@waisman.wisc.edu
(608) 262-5045

1500 Highland Ave.
Room 521
Madison, WI 53705-2274

Education

  • BS, Washington University in St. Louis, 1988
  • MS, Washington University in St. Louis, 1988
  • PhD, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, 1991

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.

Recent Publications

  • Recognition of vocoded words and sentences in quiet and multi-talker babble with children and adults.
    Goupell MJ, Draves GT, Litovsky RY
    PLoS One 2020; 15(12): e0244632
    [PubMed ID: 33373427]

  • Comparing fNIRS signal qualities between approaches with and without short channels.
    Zhou X, Sobczak G, McKay CM, Litovsky RY
    PLoS One 2020; 15(12): e0244186
    [PubMed ID: 33362260]

  • Self-Reported Hearing Loss and Longitudinal Cognitive Function in a Cohort Enriched with Risk for Alzheimer's Disease.
    Fields TN, Mueller KD, Koscik RL, Johnson SC, Okonkwo OC, Litovsky RY
    J Alzheimers Dis 2020; 78(3): 1109-1117
    [PubMed ID: 33104032]

  • The impact of temporal fine structure and signal envelope on auditory motion perception.
    Warnecke M, Peng ZE, Litovsky RY
    PLoS One 2020; 15(8): e0238125
    [PubMed ID: 32822439]

  • Development of Binaural Sensitivity: Eye Gaze as a Measure of Real-time Processing.
    Peng ZE, Kan A, Litovsky RY
    Front Syst Neurosci 2020; 14: 39
    [PubMed ID: 32733212]

All Publications on PubMed