Maddox Lab @ UM

Auditory Neuroscience & Hearing Research

Kresge Hearing Research Institute • University of Michigan

About us

We investigate how the human auditory system processes complex sounds, from the brainstem to the cortex. Using techniques including EEG, psychophysics, and computational modeling, we study selective attention, subcortical auditory processing, and hearing in challenging environments.

We are part of the Kresge Hearing Research Institute in the Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Research Areas

Fast hearing diagnosis with the parallel ABR
Fast hearing diagnosis with the parallel ABR

An infant being tested for hearing loss has only as long as their nap. The diagnostic auditory brainstem response (ABR)—the standard test of an infant's hearing—is traditionally measured one frequency,...

How the brain encodes natural sounds
How the brain encodes natural sounds

Listening in the real world means picking up a single voice in a crowded room, following a melody over a distant hum, or catching a friend's name on a noisy...

How the visual system shapes hearing
How the visual system shapes hearing

Watching a talker's face helps you understand them in a noisy room. The reason for this is partly obvious—lip-reading conveys phonetic information that the auditory signal alone may not—but the...

Latest Updates

Joaquín Valderrama visits the lab

July 8, 2026

Joaquín Valderrama visits the lab

We were lucky to host Joaquín Valderrama from the University of Granada this week to share tips and techniques between our labs. He also gave an excellent presentation on his...

New lab photo

May 27, 2026

New lab photo

After a nice dinner out, we actually remembered to take a lab photo. (A major feat!)

Bone conduction pABR paper published

May 14, 2026

Bone conduction pABR paper published

Our paper with the Polonenko Lab comparing bone and air conduction response in the pABR has been published in Ear and Hearing. The study is a proof of concept in...