The NeuroAcoustics Laboratory is a leading research and teaching laboratory with state-of-the-art equipment in the field of acoustic measurement technology, acoustic reproduction systems, audiological diagnostic and therapy devices (hearing aids/cochlear implants). Advanced techniques and methods are used here to gain new insights into hearing acoustics and put them into practice.

Das Labor NeuroAkustik zeichnet sich durch Forschung auf internationalem Niveau aus. Die Publikationen des Labors sind weltweit bekannt und oft zitiert. Besonders hervorzuheben ist die Entwicklung innovativer Algorithmen, die bereits erfolgreich in kommerzielle Cochlea-Implantat-Systeme integriert wurden.

Forschungsthemen:

• Algorithmenentwicklung für Hörgeräte und Cochlea-Implantate
• (Weiter-) Entwicklung objektiver audiometrischer Messmethoden (Hardware und Software)
• Entwicklung und Implementierung von Hörtests
• Entwicklung virtueller akustischer Szenen
• Interauraler spektrotemporaler Abgleich von Hörsystemen

The NeuroAcoustics Laboratory also serves to train the next generation of experts in this field. By combining theoretical knowledge and practical experiments, the teaching programmes optimally prepare students for their future careers.

The experiments in the NeuroAcoustics laboratory provide students of medical technology, electrical engineering, applied artificial intelligence and other interested parties with insights into the processing of sound signals in the auditory system and acoustic measurement technology.

The laboratory experiments carried out in small groups complement the lectures and seminars (Bachelor and Master).

The NeuroAcoustics Laboratory offers lectures and practical courses for in-service training. In addition, certification courses are offered that are recognised with continuing education points by the German Society for Audiology (DGA) and the Federal Guild of Hearing Aid Acousticians (biha). The head of the laboratory, Prof Zirn, is a certified trainer of the DGA in the field of scientific and technical audiology.

The NeuroAcoustics laboratory offers the following infrastructure:

• 3x3 m acoustic booth for conducting hearing experiments and virtual acoustics
• Measuring systems for recording acoustically evoked potentials
• Measurement system for recording otoacoustic emissions
• Several powerful computers, e.g. for simulating various aspects of the hearing process such as vibrations of the basilar membrane or electrical simulation of the electrode-tissue interface of implanted electrodes
• Several high-quality audio recording systems
• Class 1 and 2 sound level meters
• Embedded systems programming and circuit design