Audiology Researcher Adding to List of Accolades

Dr. James Jerger, distinguished scholar in residence at the UT Dallas School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, has received numerous honors in his 54-year career. This year is proving to be no exception.

During the next few months, Jerger will be recognized for a lifetime of contributions to the field of audiology.

“I have seen many changes as the field of audiology has evolved over the past five decades. Fifty years ago we had to wait until the child was 3-4 years old before we could get a valid hearing test. Today we can evaluate a baby’s hearing virtually at the moment of birth,” said Dr. James Jerger.

On Oct. 24, Jerger will be honored by New England audiologists at an event sponsored by the University of Connecticut’s audiology program. The event, titled “New England Audiology Salutes Jim Jerger,” will include a round of salutes from Jerger’s colleagues and friends, as well as a brief speech from the honoree himself.

The Texas Academy of Audiology will honor Jerger on Nov. 14 in Richardson during its annual conference. Jerger will receive the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award and the 2008 Honor as the Outstanding Texas Audiologist. Dr. Ross Roeser, executive director emeritus of the UT Dallas Callier Center for Communication Disorders and President of the Texas Academy of Audiology, will present the award to Jerger.

And in March, Jerger will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Auditory Society at its annual meeting in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Jerger specializes in auditory processing disorders in children and the elderly and the effects of aging on auditory function. He established the UT Dallas Texas Auditory Processing Disorder Laboratory, which is dedicated to the research of brain mechanisms that are fundamental to auditory processing disorders.

He also supervises Ph.D. students in the divisions of communication disorders and neuroscience and participates in the UT Dallas doctor of audiology program, which is ranked fourth in the nation by U.S. News and World Report.

During his career that has spanned almost six decades, Jerger has seen great evolutions in the field of audiology. “When I started out, a hearing aid was about the size of a pack of large cigarettes,” he said.  In 1993, Jerger also served on the National Institutes of Health panel that recommended all newborn babies should be screened for hearing loss. “I like to think I was helpful in pushing that through,” he said.

Jerger received his Ph.D. and started his career at Northwestern University.  Before coming to UT Dallas in 1997, he held appointments at the Baylor College of Medicine, the Houston Speech and Hearing Center and Gallaudet University.  Jerger has been the author or co-author of more than 300 publications in audiology.