Doug Sladen

Doug Sladen is an Associate Professor at the School of Audiology & Speech Sciences, University of British Columbia. He earned his M.A. from Western Washington University and Ph.D. in Hearing and Speech Sciences from Vanderbilt University. His career spans roles as a Research Associate at Vanderbilt (2006-2008), Assistant Professor at the University of Texas at Austin (2008-2011), and Director of the Cochlear Implant Program at Mayo Clinic (2011-2017) before returning to academia as Associate Professor at Western Washington University (2017-2024).

• Education: B.A. (1992), M.A. (1994) Western Washington University; Ph.D. (2006) Vanderbilt University

Dr. Sladen’s research focuses on cochlear implantation for both children and adults, particularly in cases of single-sided deafness, examining outcomes like speech perception, localization, and health-related quality of life. He has integrated virtual reality into testing environments to advance this work. His advocacy efforts contributed to legislation in Washington state mandating insurance coverage for hearing aids.

Recent publications highlight trends in cochlear implant efficacy, VR-based auditory assessment, and unilateral hearing loss management. He has also explored telehealth applications in infant diagnostics and Kaizen principles in clinical quality improvement.