Congratulations to Lian Lewis, who recently presented her research, "The Role of Reverberation in Sound Localization and Word Recognition," at the UWL Undergraduate Research Symposium!

Her study examined how reverberation affects sound localization and word recognition, especially in the context of cochlear implant (CI) simulation. While typical hearing (TH) listeners use interaural time differences (ITDs) to locate sounds, reverberation can distort these cues—and this effect may be amplified in CI users.

Using CI-simulated speech, participants heard two-syllable words under three conditions: no reverberation (0 ms), early-arriving echoes (30 ms), and late-arriving echoes (80 ms). Laura hypothesized that late-arriving echoes would impair performance.

Preliminary findings showed reduced localization accuracy with late-arriving ITDs, supporting the hypothesis. These results improve our understanding of how reverberation impacts auditory processing and offer a foundation for studying its effects in CI users.

Great work, Lian!