Ruth Litovsky, Ph.D.

Position title: Professor, Oros Family Chair

Email: ruth.litovsky@wisc.edu

Phone: (608) 262-6482

Address:
378 Goodnight Hall
1975 Willow Drive
Madison, WI 53706

Ruth Litovsky, Ph.D.

Introduction Video

Research Introduction Video

Waisman Center Profile

Binaural Hearing and Speech Laboratory

Education

B.A., Washington University
M.A., Washington University
Ph.D., University of Massachusetts

Courses Taught

CD 202 Normal Aspects of Hearing
CD 851 Hearing Sciences Advanced Topics
CD 850 Hearing Science for AuD students
CD 921 Seminar – Problems in Audiology
CD 900 Seminar – Implantable Auditory Prostheses

Research Statement

Dr. Litovsky’s research focuses on how people are able to hear in complex, noisy environments, and the contributions of the binaural auditory system (having two ears). The work has several main themes: 1) How we hear speech in noise (the “cocktail party” effect); 2) How we localize sounds; 3) How people with cochlear implants can operate in these conditions, and whether bilateral implants provide benefits beyond unilateral implants. Most of this research takes place at the Waisman Center, where she directs the Binaural Hearing and Speech Lab, working closely with children from the Waisman Center Early Childhood Progarm. She also collaborates with numerous clinics nation-wide that provide cochlear implants to children and adults.

This research is funded primarily by grants from the NIH-NIDCD (R01 DC03083, R01 DC008365, R01DC010494-02).

Representative Publications

Litovsky, R.Y. (2011). Review of recent work on spatial hearing skills in children with bilateral cochlear implants. Cochlear Implants International. 12 Suppl 1:S30-4.

Todd, A.E., Edwards, J. and Litovsky, R.Y. (2011). Production of contrast between sibilant fricatives by children with cochlear implants. J Acoust Soc Am. 130:3969-3979

Godar, S.P. and Litovsky, R.Y. (2010). Experience with bilateral cochlear implants improves sound. Otology Neurotology. 31(8):1287-92.

Garadat, S.N., Litovsky, R.Y., Yu, G. and Zeng, F.G. (2010). Effects of Simulated Spectral Holes on Speech Intelligibility and Spatial Release from Masking under Binaural and Monaural Listening. J. Acoust. Soc. Amer. 127(2): 977-89.

Litovsky, R.Y. and Godar, S.P. (2010). Difference in precedence effect between children and adults signifies development of sound localization abilities in complex listening tasks. J. Acoust. Soc. Amer. 128(4): 1979-1991.

Litovsky, R.Y., Jones, G.L., Agrawal, S. and van Hoesel, R. (2010). Effect of age at onset of deafness on binaural sensitivity in electric hearing in humans. J. Acoust. Soc. Amer. 127: 400-414.

Lu, T., Litovsky, R.Y. and Zeng, F.G. (2010). Binaural masking level differences in actual and simulated bilateral cochlear implant listeners. J. Acoust. Soc. Amer. 127(3): 1479-90.

Loizou P.C, Hu, Y., Litovsky, R.Y., Yu, G., Peters, R., Lake, J. and Roland, P. (2009). Speech recognition by bilateral cochlear implant users in a cocktail-party setting. J Acoust Soc Am. 125:372-83. PMID: 19173424

Garadat, S.N., Litovsky, R.Y., Yu, G. and Zeng, F.G. (2009). Role of Binaural Hearing in Speech Intelligibility and Spatial Release from Masking Using Vocoded Speech. J. Acoust. Soc. Amer. 126: 2522-35.

Litovsky, R.Y., Parkinson, A. and Arcaroli, J. (2009). Spatial hearing and speech intelligibility in bilateral cochlear implant users. Ear and Hearing. 27(6):714-31. PMID: 17086081

Miller, S., Litovsky, R.Y. and Kluender, K. (2009). Predicting echo thresholds from speech onset characteristics. J. Acoust. Soc. Amer., Electronic Letters. 125(4):EL134-40. PMID: 19354351

van Hoesel, R.J.M., Jones, G.L. and Litovsky, R.Y. (2009). Interaural time-delay sensitivity in bilateral cochlear implant users: Effects of pulse-rate, modulation-rate, and place of stimulation. J. Assoc. Res. Otolaryngol. 10(4):557-67. PMID: 19513792

Potts, L., Skinner, M., Litovsky, R.Y., Kuk, F. and Strube, M. (2009). Recognition and Localization of Speech by Adult Cochlear Implant Recipients Wearing a Digital Hearing Aid in the Non-implanted Ear (Bimodal Hearing). Int. J. Audiology. 20:353-373. PMID: 19594084

Grieco-Calub, T., Saffran, J. and Litovsky, R.Y. (2009). Spoken word recognition in toddlers who use cochlear implants. J. Sp. Lang. Hear. Res. 52: 1390-1400.