Brian Monson

Brian Monson is an Associate Professor in the Department of Speech and Hearing Science at the University of Illinois' College of Applied Health Sciences. His research focuses on extended high-frequency hearing (8-20 kHz) and its critical role in speech perception, particularly in challenging listening environments.

Dr. Monson's research interests center on understanding why humans can hear frequencies up to 20 kHz when conventional clinical hearing tests only assess up to 8 kHz. His work has demonstrated that extended high frequencies play a significant role in determining speaker orientation and improving speech comprehension in noisy settings. He recently received a five-year, $2 million grant from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders for his study The ecological significance of extended high-frequency hearing in humans.

His research has important clinical implications, particularly for addressing the most common complaint among hearing aid users: difficulty understanding speech in noisy situations. Dr. Monson's findings suggest that current hearing aids, which don't represent extended high frequencies, may be missing a critical component for optimal speech perception in real-world environments.

As an educator, Dr. Monson teaches courses including SHS 170 (Intro Hum Comm Sys & Disorders), SHS 240 (Intro Sound & Hearing Science), SHS 389 (Neuroplasticity and Comm), SHS 470 (Neural Bases Spch Lang), SHS 541 (Clinical Auditory Anat & Phys), and SHS 592 (Prosem Spch & Hear Sci).