M. Patrick Feeney, Ph.D.

Telephone: 503-273-5306
Email: patrick.feeney@va.gov 

Current appointments

Director, NCRAR

Research interests and current projects 

Dr. Feeney’s research interests involve the evaluation of peripheral auditory function, hearing screening, and central auditory function in aging. He is currently a co-principal investigator (PI) on an NIH NIDCD translational research grant “Wideband clinical diagnosis and monitoring of middle-ear and cochlear function” with Douglas Keefe, Ph.D. of the Boys Town National Research Hospital and Lisa Hunter Ph.D. of the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.  The purpose of this study is to investigate the translation of a wideband test battery to evaluate middle-ear function using energy reflectance and cochlear function using transient otoacoustic emissions with a system that compensates for middle-ear pressure. Specifically, he will be evaluating the diagnostic capabilities of these measurements in Veterans with ossicular abnormalities and those receiving ototoxic drugs.  In other related studies, he will be comparing the diagnostic utility of wideband reflectance with that of laser Doppler vibrometry for ossicular disorders.  He will also be teaming with other investigators at NCRAR and three additional sites across the country to evaluate a new adult hearing screening methodology for which he is the PI. This project was recently approved for funding by the NIH NIDCD: “Community-Based Kiosks for Hearing Screening and Education”.

Recent publications

• Feeney, M. P., & Sanford, C. A. (2008). Middle-Ear Measurement. Chapter in J. Madell and C. Flexer, Pediatric Audiology: Diagnosis, Technology, and Management. Thieme: New York.
• Feeney, M. P., Grant, I. L. & Mills, D. M. (2009). Wideband energy reflectance measurements of ossicular chain discontinuity and repair in human temporal bone. Ear and Hearing, 30, 391-400.
• Keefe, D. H., & Feeney, M. P. (2009). Principles of acoustic immittance and acoustic transfer functions.  Chapter in J. Katz, Handbook of Clinical Audiology, 6th edition. Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins: Baltimore.
• Hunter, L. L., Feeney, M. P., Lapsley-Miller, J. A., Jeng, P. S., & Bohning, S. (2010). Wideband reflectance in newborns: Normative regions and relationship to hearing screening results. Ear and Hearing, 31, 599-610.
• Gates, G. A., Gibbons, L. E., McCurry, S. M., Crane, P. K., Feeney, M. P., & Larson, E. B. (2010). Executive dysfunction and presbycusis in older persons with and without memory loss and dementia. Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology, 23, 218-223.
• Gates, G. A., Anderson, M. L., McCurry, S. M., Feeney, M. P., & Larson, E. B. (2011). Central auditory dysfunction is a harbinger of Alzheimer’s dementia. Archives of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, 137, 390-395.
• Sanford, C. A. & Feeney, M. P. (2011). Infant evaluation: under 6 months. Chapter in C. Flexer and J. Madell, Pediatric Audiology Casebook. Thieme: New York.
• Feeney, M. P. & Keefe, D. H. (In Press). Physiological mechanisms assessed by aural acoustic transfer functions. Chapter 19 in K. Tremblay & R. Burkard, Eds. Translational perspectives in hearing science. Plural Publishing.
• Feeney, M.P. & Sanford, C. A. (In Press). Current developments in the clinical application of wideband reflectance in assessing middle ear dysfunction in adults and infants. Chapter in J. Kei and F. Zhao Assessment Of Middle Ear Function In Young Infants. Plural Publishing.

Recent presentations

• Feeney, M. P. Grant, I. L. & Mills, D. M. Evaluating Ossicular Discontinuity and Repair Using Wideband Energy Reflectance in Human Cadaver Ear. Published Abstracts of the Midwinter Meeting of the Association for Research in Otolaryngology, Baltimore. No. 31, 2009.
• Day, J. E., Seixas, N. Feeney, M. P. Sources of variability in wideband energy reflectance at ambient pressure. Poster session presented at the American Auditory Society, Scientific and Technology Meeting, Scottsdale AZ, March 2009.
• Feeney, M. P., Jeng, P., Hunter, L. L. Lapsley-Miller, J., Parent, P., Boege, P. Middle-ear power analysis in patients with conductive hearing loss. Poster session presented at the Middle-Ear Mechanics in Research and Otology (MEMRO) meeting. Stanford University, June 2009.
• Feeney, M. P. New Horizons in Middle-Ear Assessment: Wideband Energy Reflectance Measurements. 2-hour Web Seminar, American Academy of Audiology, November 12, 2009.
• Hunter, L. L., Lapsley Miller, J., Jeng, P. & Feeney, M. P. Relationships between wideband middle ear power analysis and distortion-product otoacoustic emissions in newborns. Published Abstracts of the Midwinter Meeting of the Association for Research in Otolaryngology, Anaheim, 2010.
• Feeney, M. P. and Kristensen, B. Interacoustics research system for wideband reflectance/absorbance tympanometry. Technology Update Session. Annual meeting of the American Auditory Society, Scottsdale, Arizona. March 04, 2010.
  Feeney, M. P. Recent advances in middle-ear measurement: Wideband acoustic transfer functions. Annual meeting of the Kentucky Academy of Audiology, Louisville, Kentucky. August 24, 2010.
• Feeney, M. P., Stover, B., Day, J. E., Keefe, D. H. & Seixas, N. Longitudinal wideband middle-ear absorbance in adults. Poster session presented at the American Auditory Society, Scientific and Technology Meeting, Scottsdale AZ, March 2011.
• Feeney, M. P. Hunter, L. L. Clinical application of wideband acoustic transfer functions. Featured Session at the Annual Convention of the American Academy of Audiology, Chicago, Illinois. April, 2011.