Improving Interpersonal Communication
The Department of Speech and Hearing Science, located within the College of Applied Health Sciences at the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign, offers a broad background in physical, behavioral, and social aspects of human communication. Our programs and
award-winning professors prepare students to enter the critically important fields of speech and hearing science, health, and related
research. Department research laboratories study communication challenges and clinics assist people with communication impairments.
The Department of Speech and Hearing Science is dedicated to improving all aspects of interpersonal communication through research,
programs, and outreach.
Tinnitus, Brain Response, and Hearing Loss
Assistant Professor Fatima Husain’s research focuses on understanding why some people with hearing
loss will develop tinnitus and how neural networks within the brain are affected. In a recent brain
imaging study, she found that the brains of people with tinnitus, whether or not they had hearing loss,
were working harder, with more areas stimulated, in response to the task of identifying whether two sounds
were alike or different.
Read more about Dr. Husain's research.