Karen Doherty

Professor, Communication Sciences and Disorders, College of Arts & Sciences Link

Faculty Affiliate, Aging Studies Institute
Faculty Affiliate, Center for Aging and Policy Studies

CAPS Biography:

As an affiliate of the Syracuse University Aging Studies Institute and CAPS, I have been actively involved in aging research related to improving hearing communication for older adults. I study both the effects of bottom up (peripheral hearing) and top-down (central processes) processing on older people’s ability to perceive speech. In addition, I evaluate factors that are associated with successful hearing aid use. The long-term goal of my research is to decrease an individual’s hearing handicap and increase the benefit and satisfaction they receive from using different types of hearing technology. Recently, we developed the Practical Hearing Aid Skills Test-Revised (PHAST-R) app (2018), which is a clinical tool for clinicians to objectively measure a hearing aid user’s ability to perform tasks representative of critical hearing aid use and care functions. This is important given one of the main reasons people do not wear their hearing aids is because they do not know how to correctly use them. Untreated hearing loss in older adults has been associated with depression and early cognitive decline. The new Over the Counter (OTC) Hearing Aid Act of 2017 should make hearing aids more accessible and affordable to the public.  In our current research, we are evaluating the Food and Drug Administration’s regulations for OTCs. My research aligns with the CAPS signature theme of health and well-being and all three cross-cutting themes of policy, place, and specific populations.

Degree(s):

Ph.D., Audiology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1994
M.S., Audiology, University of Connecticut, 1987
B.S., Communicative Disorders, University of Rhode Island, 1985