From Clinical Insight to Innovation: An Audiologist’s Journey to Rethink Auditory Rehabilitation

Audiologist Karen Petter, AuD, works with numerous adult patients each year who must train their brains to recognize and interpret sounds in a new way after cochlear implant surgery. The surgery itself is only the beginning. Auditory therapy, much like physical therapy, involves repetition and recommended training exercises to maximize the benefits of the implant device.

In her clinical role, Dr. Petter noticed a gap in available resources, often mobile apps, and her patients' real-world needs. Working with Cleveland Clinic Innovations, Dr. Petter created the auditory therapy program she had begun to envision. Her invention, an app-based training software, meets patients where they are, with targeted and adjustable exercises that adapt to each patient's abilities, helping them build skills and confidence as they adjust to the cochlear device.

"I had in my head what I wanted for my patients, but it didn't exist," she says, explaining that patients often open rehab apps to find a small number of exercises, with little guidance on where to begin. Some struggle to understand speech when background noise is present. Others cannot tell distinct words apart during conversations. For less tech-savvy patients, simply navigating the apps can be a barrier.

A cochlear implant is a small, surgically implanted device that bypasses the ear's natural hearing process to deliver sound signals directly to the auditory nerve. With auditory rehab, the goal, according to Dr. Petter, is for the patient to hear better with a cochlear implant than they could with a hearing aid. Her app is about making the journey to that point more accessible.

"We hope that this program is going to be more motivating and a better fit-one that can eliminate the need for several resources, or even ongoing in-person therapy appointments," Dr. Petter says. "We hope this will help patients meet their communication goals faster, too."

Innovation Journey

Dr. Petter admits that becoming an inventor was intimidating at first, but Cleveland Clinic Innovations made the process accessible-which was important to her as a caregiver whose day job is 100 percent clinical.

She submitted her Invention Disclosure Form (IDF), the first step for any new inventor, in 2023.

Working alongside Innovations staff, and with the support of Innovations' Technology Development Investment Funds, Dr. Petter was able to build a prototype. Christina Buzzy, PhD, Associate Director, Innovations Development, worked with her to gather user requirements and mock up the layout of auditory training exercises. In parallel, Giedre Ruzgaite, PhD, Associate Director, Innovations Business Development and Licensing, connected with eargym, a research-led, user-designed hearing health app, to co-develop the prototype and shape the user experience by leveraging eargym's expertise in applied auditory training.

"We were able to marry Dr. Petter's medical knowledge with the foundational digital hearing platform eargym already had laid out, to create something for the betterment of hearing," says Dr. Buzzy. "It was teamwork from the start."

In summer 2025, Dr. Petter debuted a beta test of the program with 30 Cleveland Clinic patients and further tweaked the program based on patient feedback, with the help of a Caregiver Catalyst grant. The final version, called eargym Cochlear Rehab, will be released on the Apple, Google Play and Android app stores later in 2026.

"It's rewarding to open the app up with patients and see it through their eyes for the first time," she says.

A Passion for Healthy Hearing

Dr. Petter found a passion for audiology after a brief stint studying music education.

"I kind of fell in love with cochlear implants-especially the rehab part," she says. "Just watching what your brain can do is so amazing to me."

Working closely with patients shed light on their pain points with current solutions, and it's one of the reasons she chose to become an inventor.

"Anybody can have a good idea, and the people who are working with patients every day can see the roadblocks their patients face so clearly," she says.

Five years from now, Dr. Petter hopes to see her program in the hands and ears of lots of patients and is looking forward to continued work with Innovations.

"This wouldn't have been possible without Cleveland Clinic Innovations," she says. "I was able to focus on my area of expertise, and they were able to focus on product development, and together, we could create something that makes a difference for our patients."