Technical audiology and applied psychoacoustics
The aim of my research is to develop new technical and computational methods to aid hearing care professionals and benefit patients.
My research topics include:
- Design of experiments
- Psychoacoustics
- Electrophysiological measures: EEG, MEG
- Tinnitus
Principal Researcher:
Petteri Hyvärinen, DSc, Adj. Professor
Auditory evoked response measurements and the development of hearing research methods
Auditory evoked response measurements quantify the response of the inner ear's sensory cells, auditory nerve or cerebral cortex generated by a sound or electric pulse stimulus. The measurements can be used, for example, in measuring the hearing of young children or in optimizing the settings of a cochlear implant.
Thea aim of these studies are to:- estimate the clinical usability of arousal response measurements (e.g. ECochG, eCAP) and the effect of different measurement settings.
In our studies focusing on hearing examination methods, we aim to improve the cost-effectiveness of hearing examinations, for example by utilizing machine learning methods to speed up the hearing examination and by enabling the patient's own hearing examination.
In addition, we investigate the use of realistic sound environments in the evaluation of functional hearing and in the optimization of hearing aid settings.
Principal Researcher:
Pia Linder, Medical Physicist, PhD
Quantifying the benefits of Real-Ear Measurements (REM) for hearing aid fitting
Benefits of REM (BREM)
- Real-Ear Measurements (REM) is used to verify whether the output of the hearing aid at the eardrum matches the desired prescribed target
- REM is recommended by the ISO-standard as the primary method of fitting hearing aids. However, it is time-consuming, requires know-how and expensive equipment
Main study questions are:
- What is the real benefit of REM for the hearing aid user?
- Does a hearing aid fitted with REM improve the patient's functional hearing compared to the easier-to-use algorithms by hearing aid manufacturers?
Principal Researcher:
Laura Ihalainen, MD, PhD Student
Electrical measurements of the inner ear
Combining the information provided by the electric field created by the implant and other electrophysiological measurements with imaging and changes in the inner ear observed in experimental animals.
Principal Researcher:
Matti Iso-Mustajärvi, MD, Adj. Professor
The development and validation of Finnish health-related Quality of life questionnaires for cochlear implant recipients
- The lack of reliable and validated patient-reported outcome measures to
assess hearing rehabilitation outcomes, hinders the development of quality and
effectiveness in treating cochlear implant (CI) patients
The aim of this study is:
- To develop and to validate hearing specific health-related quality of life questionnaire for Finnish CI patients, suitable for the clinical practice
Principal Researcher:
Petrus Miettinen, MD, PhD Student