#2: Best of Both Worlds! Bimodal Hearing with Dr. Melissa Polonenko and Dr. Robel Alemu

In the second episode of season 5, we are looking at bimodal hearing, the combination of a hearing aid and a cochlear implant. Host and co-producer Maryam Othman chats with Dr. Karen Gordon, Dr. Melissa Polonenko and Dr. Robel Alemu! Our first guest is Dr. Melissa Polonenko, Principal Investigator at the PoloLab at the University of Minnesota. Her lab focuses on developing new ways to assess hearing, vestibular, and multi-sensory function and to evaluate outcomes with hearing devices. Our second guest is Dr. Robel Alemu, who recently completed his PhD at Archie's Cochlear Implant Lab. His research focused on binaural hearing in children with hearing prosthetics using behavioural and electrophysiological measures of hearing.  

Maryam brings her lived experiences into the discussion as she uses bimodal hearing and is a medical student at Western University. This episode looks at the basis of bimodal hearing, how it impacts spatial hearing, auditory development, and how parents of children with bimodal hearing can support their hearing journeys.  

Transcript of S5E2 

PoloLab Website 

Recorded on Oct 13, 2025 

Produced by Maria Khan 

Music composed and performed by Dr. Blake Papsin, Otolaryngologist-in-Chief, Department of Otolaryngology (Head and Neck Surgery) at the Hospital for Sick Children