ISU hearing study pays participants who enter

Idaho State University’s Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders has received funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to determine age-related changes in the middle ear function. And with that funding, researchers are planning to pay participants who enter.

What’s the middle ear you ask? ISU Associate Professor Chris Sanford says, it’s where sound vibrations go after hitting the ear drum. And that’s exactly what him and other researchers are studying, with the influence of age on our hearing.

Sanford is looking for a total of 500 participants – men and women from age ranges 6 months to 5 years; 10-15 years; 20-30 years; 45-55 years; and 65-75 years of age.

So far, he’s gotten 200 from both Pocatello and Meridian campuses.

The instrument used during the hearing study is said to be quicker and more advance than the typical hearing test. It tests the normalcy of the ears through colors and graphs.

“So for example, if there was fluid in the ear drum. The acoustic response would look different than it would from a healthy ear drum. We’re using acoustics on how the middle ears are working. So for that part of the study, it doesn’t require a person to give any behavioral response,” said Sanford.

Participants will be paid $10 each and can make an appointment with Sanford at: 208-282-3813.

The studies take less than an hour and will be conducted at building 68 on the ISU Campus on Memorial Drive and Martin Luther King.