Harry Levitt
Projects
Acoustic Cues for Wayfinding
This project aims to do a detailed analysis of the environmental acoustic cues that help some blind navigate successfully.
Hearing Aid for Blind Travelers with Hearing Loss
Blind travelers rely on subtle acoustic cues for independent mobility. When hearing becomes impaired, as in the normal aging process, a special type of hearing aid may be needed to enhance these cues.
Realistic Hearing Aid Outcomes
The primary objective of this project is to develop a set of realistic outcome measures that relate to the real-world use of hearing aids. A second objective is to evaluate the extent to which these measures are predictive of hearing aid benefit and user satisfaction after the client has worn the hearing aid for two or more months and has acclimatized to the instrument.
The Specific Aims are as follows
Aim #1: Develop and evaluate an outcome measure that takes into account the interactive nature of human communication and which is predictive of the extent to which a person with a hearing loss is…
Video-Based Speech Enhancement for Persons with Hearing and Vision Loss
Observing the visual cues from a speaker such as the shape of the lips and facial expression can greatly improve the speech comprehension capabilities of a person with hearing loss. However, concurrent vision loss can lead to a significant loss in speech perception. We propose developing a prototype device that utilizes a video camera in addition to audio input to enhance the speech signal from a target speaker in everyday situations.
Labs
Simon Auditory Lab
The goal of our laboratory is to examine the auditory abilities of people with various degrees of hearing loss with and without vision loss.
