Prof. Minka Hildesheimer

Professor, Department of Communication Disorders, Tel Aviv University

Research focus:

• Normal and abnormal auditory function
• Brain plasticity in cochlear Implants, Auditory Processing Disorders (APD)
• Clinical Audiology

A. Study of inner ear function in guinea pigs under three conditions: hypoxia, acoustic over-stimulation and differentiation. The study of these subjects has required the development of three special experimental techniques:

• A method of chronic implantation of an electrode into the facial nerve canal to enable longitudinal follow-up of hearing function in the awake state.
• A rheological model, which was developed for research on cochlear hypoxia in guinea pigs. 
• A surgical method to completely eliminate the auditory efferent innervation to the cochlea while ensuring the animal’s full recovery from this procedure. Thus it is possible to study the hearing function over time without the influence of the efferent system with the guinea pigs in an awake state,

B. Research on auditory plasticity in human subjects. The cochlear implant is a rehabilitative alternative in which an electrode inserted into the inner ear, directly stimulates the auditory nerve. Research is conducted in the area of programming the implant and speech perception using the implant. The research deals with the plasticity of the auditory system in acquisition of hearing and language skills and contributes basic theoretical and clinical knowledge about the importance of the auditory feedback to normal speech and hearing development and function.

Hearing in neonates and Auditory Processing Disorders: The Transient Evoked Oto-Acoustic Emission (TEOAE) is applied in hearing screening in neonates. Research was conducted to examine the reliability and validity of the test. We also investigated the development and activity of the efferent inhibitory system in newborns and premature babies using the suppression of the TEOAE test. We suggested the use of the test as a clinical tool for evaluation of auditory brain-stem function in neonates. We postulate that central auditory processing disorders (CAPD) manifested later in life can already be detected at this early stage of life using this method. We plan to continue to investigate the development of the efferent system and its importance for hearing throughout the life span, from childhood to old age, under difficult listening conditions and in subjects with communication disorders.

Henkin, Y., GIVON, L., Yaar-Soffer, Y. & Hildesheimer, M. (2011). Cortical binaural interaction during speech processing in children with bilateral cochlear implant. Cochlear Implant International, 12:61-65.

Potter-Katz, H., Feldman, I. & Hildesheimer, M. (2011). Binaural masking level difference in skilled reading children and children With dyslexia. Journal of Basic and Clinical Physiology & Pharmacology, 22:59-63.

Kaplan-Neeman, R., Muchnik, C. & Hildesheimer, M. (2012). Hearing aid satisfaction and use in the advanced digital era. The Laryngoscope, 122:2029- 2036.

Ari-Even Roth, D., Muchnik, C., Shabtai, E., Hildesheimer, M. & Henkin, Y. (2012). Evidence for atypical auditory brainstem response in young children with suspected autism spectrum disorders. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology, 54:23- 29.

Van Den Abbeele, T., Hildesheimer, M., Kronenberg, J. & Arnold, A. (2012). Multicentre investigation on electrically evoked compound action potential and stapedius Reflex. Cochlear Implants International, 13:26-34.

Muchnik, C., Ari-Even Roth, D., Hildesheimer, M., Arie, M., Bar-Haim, Y. & Henkin, Y. (2013). Abnormalities in auditory efferent activities in children with selective mutism. Audiology & Neurology. 18:353–361

Henkin Y, Swead RT, Roth DA, Kishon-Rabin L, Shapira Y, Migirov L, Hildesheimer M, Kaplan- Neeman R. (2014) Evidence for a right cochlear implant advantage in simultaneous bilateral cochlear implantation. Laryngoscope. 124:1937-41

L. Kishon-Rabin, J. Kuint, M. Hildesheimer, D. Ari-Even Roth. (2015) Delay in auditory behaviour and preverbal vocalization in infants with unilateral hearing loss. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 57, 1129-36 

D. Ari-Even Roth, L. Kishon-Rabin, M. Hildesheimer, A. Karni. (2015) Asymmetric interaural generalization of learning gains in a speech-in-noise identification task. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 138, 2627-2634