Chelsea M. Blankenship, AuD, PhD

I am a pediatric hearing researcher dedicated to advancing the diagnosis and treatment of hearing loss in infants and children through research that bridges clinical innovation and real-world impact. My work centers on improving methods to diagnose hearing loss and assess outcomes following treatment, with a particular focus on developing tools that can be used even when traditional hearing tests are not possible. Many infants and young children are unable to complete standard hearing assessments due to unreliable behavioral responses or limited language skills, so it is essential to have objective measures that don’t require participation from the child. These tools help us understand how children are hearing and processing language, guiding clinical management and improving their quality of life.

My research has included evaluating maturational changes in clinical measures of inner ear function, optimizing interpretation criteria for infants, and developing normative clinical data for infant hearing assessments. I have also contributed to studies using novel hearing tests to identify hearing loss and detect changes due to ototoxic medications, as well as investigating auditory and neural mechanisms underlying listening difficulties in children. Additionally, I have worked on studies using advanced measures of brain connectivity, sensitive hearing assessments, and speech-evoked EEG in newborns to identify infants at risk for later speech and language disorders, with the goal of enabling earlier intervention during critical periods of development. Together, this work advances the early detection and classification of hearing loss and auditory neurologic impairments in high-risk pediatric populations.

Early clinical and research experiences working with pediatric populations shaped my commitment to this field. Engaging directly with children who are deaf or hard of hearing and their families highlighted the critical importance of early, accurate assessment of auditory function. I am passionate about shortening the timeline between peer-reviewed research and widespread clinical implementation, focusing on identifying barriers to adoption and ensuring that new tests and norms benefit patients as soon as possible.

My research has been supported by the National Institutes of Health and the Gerber Foundation. I am committed to accelerating the translation of research findings into clinical practice so that advances in hearing science can more rapidly benefit children and families.

Outside of work, I enjoy spending time with my family, traveling, reading and trying out new recipes.