Office: SLHS C301A
Dr. Arehart’s primary area of expertise in both teaching and research is audiology and hearing science. She is head of the Hearing Research Laboratory. The laboratory’s research focuses on understanding auditory perception and the impact hearing loss has on listening in complex auditory environments. Of particular interest is complex-tone pitch perception and the role it plays in the perception of competing talkers. The lab also aims to improve outcomes for adults who wear hearing aids by considering the perceptual response of listeners to different types of hearing aid signal processing. Current projects include 1) studying the interactive effects of age, hearing loss and cognition (working memory) on how listeners benefit from hearing aid technologies 2) improving our understanding of and ability to predict how hearing-aid signal processing will affect speech intelligibility and the sound quality of both music and speech; and 3) investigating how we can preserve natural soundscape perception for people wearing hearing aids including when sounds are being conveyed by remote microphones. The work in the laboratory includes interdisciplinary collaboration with colleagues in engineering, psychology, and cognitive science. Professor Arehart teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in speech and hearing science and audiology and leads outreach workshops for K-12 teachers on teaching children about sound, hearing and hearing health. She is also a certified clinical audiologist.