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Cochlear Implant Research Lab

Current Research and Projects

The Memphis SOUND Project  

The Memphis SOUND (Serving our Underrepresented Neighbors who are Deaf/Hard of Hearing) Project is a community-based research initiative focused on improving access to hearing health healthcare among adults with the greatest barriers to care. Through community partnerships, we examine the social, environmental, and systemic factors that shape hearing health decisions and experiences. Findings from this work are used to co-develop community-informed strategies that promote healthy communication and advance hearing health equity across Memphis.
 
Improving health at the population level requires looking beyond individual care to broader social and environmental factors that shape outcomes. A public health perspective equips audiologists, speech-language pathologists, and related professionals toaddress social determinants of health, design effective prevention and health promotion strategies, and inform policy that improves communication health access at scale. Dr. Warren is a leader in Communication Public Health, a term she introduced to describe the intersection of public health and the professions focused on speech, language, and hearing health.
 

Click here for more information on the Memphis SOUND Project.

Communication Public Health 

Understanding factors that influence the health of an entire population, beyond individual care, is crucial for providing effective and equitable healthcare. Adopting a public health perspective equips audiologists, speech-language pathologists, and related professionals with the skills to analyze and address social determinants of health, design and implement effective health promotion strategies, and contribute to policy development aimed at improving health outcomes on a large scale. Dr. Warren is a leader in Communication Public Health, a term she introduced to denote the intersecting interests of public health and fields related to speech, language, and hearing health.

Selected publications: 

Warren, S.E., Lopez, L., Anthony, T., & Coco, L. (2024). Communication Public Health: An integration of speech-language pathology, audiology, and public health. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 67: 3022-2029. doi: 10.1044/2024_JSLHR-23-00491
 
Lopez, L., Warren, S., Anthony, T., & Coco, L. (2025). Promoting health equity through cross-sector strategies: The integration of communication public health. Frontiers in Public Health, section Public Health Education and Promotion. 13(2025) doi: 10.3389.1576973.
 
Warren, S.E., & Levy, M. (2021). Public Health Frameworks in Audiology Education: Rationale and Model for Implementation. SIG 8 Perspectives on Issues in Public Health Audiology,6: 1513-1525. doi.org/10.1044/2021_PERSP-21-00087. 

Evidence-based practices in clinical cochlear implants 

The CIRL has a long history in advancing evidence-based techniques to clinical cochlear implant care, including electrode deactivation and bimodal fitting formulas. Dr. Warren also collaborated with writing the American Academy of Audiology’s Cochlear Implant Practice Guidelines. 

Selected publications: 

Warren, S.E., & Atcherson, S.R. (2023). Evaluation of a Clinical Method for Selective Electrode Deactivation in Cochlear Implant Programming. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, section Sensory Neuroscience, 17:1157673, DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2023.1157673.  

Warren, S.E., & Baron, A.L. (2023). Audiologists’ Attitudes and Practice Toward Psychosocial Counseling and Referrals with Cochlear Implant Patients. Frontiers in Rehabilitation Sciences: section Strengthening Rehabilitation in Health Systems, vol 4, DOI: 10.3389/fresc.2023.1306485 

Messersmith, J., Entwisle, L., Warren, S., Scott, M. (2019). Clinical Practice Guidelines: Cochlear Implants. American Academy of Audiology.