Center for Hearing and Balance
The Center for Hearing and Balance is recognized worldwide for unique leadership, stellar service provision and progressive innovations in the realm of hearing, deafness, and balance. It promotes and provides an inter-disciplinary collaborative approach of working with patients from infancy to geriatrics with hearing and balance concerns in order to meet the needs of the individuals.
Center for Hearing and Balance Programs
Our programs fill service gaps in the community, accessing programs ranging from infant hearing screenings to family-centered support programs. These programs include hearing assessments, speech and language testing, Telehealth services and therapy, balance evaluation and medical and surgical otologic services.
Center for Hearing and Balance Research
The Center is actively involved in the development and dissemination of research for the purpose of better understanding the implications of hearing loss, balance and dizziness issues, language and communication delays related to hearing loss, implantable hearing devices, and other topics related to hearing sciences. Our research involves all ages, from the speech perception of infants with hearing aids to the viability of implantable microphones in adults. Researchers are affiliated with the University of Colorado Boulder and University of Colorado School of Medicine.
Current Research Topics in Adult and Pediatric Populations Include:
- Determining FM needs using varying noise levels to aid in setting FM gain
- Assessment of infant speech perception (discrimination) in typical and hard of hearing listeners
- Examining the relationship of the development of the brain's auditory cortex and speech perception
- Hierarchical ranking of speech perception for adults and children in order to optimize outcomes
- Clinical trials examining the safety and efficacy of active middle ear prosthesis
- Longitudinal study of infant speech perception in young cochlear implant candidates
- Tinnitus management
- Identifying a valid screening tool for Autism in the deaf and hard of hearing pediatric population
- A comparison of the efficacy and tolerability of two home exercises, the Epley maneuver and the Half Somersault, in the treatment of benign positional vertigo
Center for Hearing and Balance Education & Outreach
As a Center of Excellence, the members provide conferences and workshops to educate professionals and patients on the best strategies for managing the effects of hearing loss.
Providers
Herman Jenkins, MD
Barbara Bell-Lehmkuhler, MA, AuD
Stephen Cass, MD, MPH
Stacy Claycomb, AuD
Shannon Elam, MA, AuD
Tammy Fredrickson, PhD
Ronald Olson, MS, AuD
Cory Portnuff, AuD, PhD
Darcy Strong, AuD
Kristin Uhler, PhD
Kathleen Zaccaro, MA