In this project, Dr Josef Schlittenlacher and Emma Foottit at University College London are developing new hearing tests, designed to measure how people with hearing loss perceive loudness. In clinical settings, these tests will improve hearing aid fitting.
Project start date: October 2025
Project end date: September 2028
About the project
One common problem faced by hearing aid users is adjusting the device settings. This is partly due to the lack of good hearing tests to measure how people hear loud sounds. Previous research suggests that a person with normal levels of hearing will react faster the louder a sound is.
In this project, Emma will work to establish whether reaction time is a valid measure for how loud sounds are for someone when they have hearing loss. She will then design and evaluate reaction-time hearing tests that could be used in the clinic.
How it works
Participants will be asked to press a button as soon as a sound is heard, followed by an assessment of how loud the participant thinks the sound is. Emma will vary the volume as well as other aspects of the sound, to establish whether the relationship between loudness and reaction time for people with hearing loss and across the lifespan.
She will develop and evaluate these new reaction-time hearing tests with the aim to set up a hearing aid with higher speech intelligibility and quality.
How will this research benefit people with hearing loss?
The findings from this project will improve our understanding of the relationship between loudness and reaction time in people with hearing loss. The new reaction-time based hearing tests could be used directly in clinical practice to result in better hearing aid settings.
About the researchers
Dr Josef Schlittenlacher is an Associate Professor in Speech, Hearing and Phonetic Sciences at University College London.
I hope that my computational models improve our understanding of human perception: to advance neuroscience, to make predictions on the impact of sound and to understand an individual’s perception. New and precise tests are needed that can characterise an individual’s hearing in various listening environments.”
Emma Foottit started her PhD in Josef’s lab in October 2025.
Today, we’re surrounded by increasingly loud environments, from construction and public transport to headphones pressed against our ears. However, we still don’t fully understand how to help those with tinnitus or hearing loss. What motivates me most is the opportunity to be part of changing that to help move the field forward, improve treatments and ultimately make life better for those affected.”