Sarah Poissant

Sarah Poissant

Associate Professor of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences
Department Chair, Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences

Pediatric audiology, cochlear implants, speech perception

Location

Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences Building

358 North Pleasant Street
Amherst, MA 01003
United States

Room #201E

The overarching goal of my research is to maximize access to the speech signal for adults and children with hearing loss, regardless of which personal sensory device they use. Most of my recent work in the cochlear implant lab has aimed to fully understand how the characteristics of reverberation and masking negatively impact speech understanding in cochlear implant recipients and to provide recommendations for ways in which acoustic environments can be controlled for the users’ benefit. The pediatric portion of my research program is continuing to expand as we examine novel approaches to assessing very young and other difficult-to-test populations and begin to work with children with unilateral hearing loss who have unique listening challenges, but who also share some of the same barriers to accessing the speech signal as our cochlear implant users.

Education

  • PhD, 1999; CCC-A
  • MA, University of Connecticut, 1994
  • BA, University of Vermont, 1992

Key Publications

Poissant, S.F., Freyman, R.L., MacDonald, A.J., & Nunes, H.A. (2012). Characteristics of noise exposure during solitary trumpet playing: immediate impact on distortion-product otoacoustic emissions and long-term implications for hearing. Ear Hear., 33, 543-553.

Roditi, R.E., Poissant, S.F., Bero, E.M., & Lee, D.J. (2009). A predictive model of cochlear implant performance in postlingually deafened adults. Otol Neurotol., 30, 449-454.

Whitmal III, N.A., Poissant, S.F., Freyman, R.L., & Helfer, K.S. (2007). Speech intelligibility in cochlear implant simulations: effect of carrier type, interfering noise, and subject experience. J. Acoust. Soc. Am., 122, 2376-2388.

Poissant, S.F., Whitmal III, N.A., & Freyman R.L (2006). Effects of reverberation and masking On speech intelligibility in cochlear implant simulations. J. Acoust. Soc. Am., 119, 1606-1615.

Poissant, S.F., Peters, K.A., & Robb, M.P. (2006). Acoustic and perceptual appraisal of speech production in pediatric cochlear implant users. Int. J. Pediat. Otorhinolaryngol, 70, 1195-1203.