Wednesday, September 16, 2026
Dr. Ellen Peng Research Scientist Center for Hearing Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital
Cochlear implants (CIs) enable children who are born deaf to develop speech understanding in quiet listening conditions. However, routine clinical assessments provide limited insight into performance in everyday environments with noise and reverberation, missing important opportunities to optimize hearing outcomes through personalized intervention. In this seminar, I will discuss research examining access to speech and spatial hearing cues through current CI technology and its limitations in supporting real-world functional hearing using simulated acoustic environments. I will highlight the unique challenges children face when developing auditory skills through electrical hearing, identify factors associated with successful outcomes, and present emerging directions that could transform pediatric CI fitting and rehabilitation strategies to better support functional hearing in daily life.