Björn Herrmann

Before working in academia, Dr. Herrmann worked for several years in German industry, finishing an apprenticeship in Industrial Mechanics and working as a quality control manager in gas turbine manufacturing for Siemens. Dr. Herrmann obtained his Diploma (MSc equivalent) in Communication Psychology and his PhD in Psychology in Germany. He was a postdoc at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain sciences in Germany, at Purdue University in the USA (visiting postdoc), and at Western University in Canada. Dr. Herrmann is a Scientist at the Rotman Research Institute.

Dr. Herrmann’s research aims to understand how we engage in listening and communication as we age and why some people who are hard of hearing disengage from social, communication-mediated activities.  He focuses on how sounds are encoded in sensory systems, how cognitive processes support listening under challenges, and how sensation and cognition intact to shape listening experiences. The research aims to help develop better knowledge of the changes in neural circuits associated with aging and hearing loss that lead to adverse listening experiences and disengagement. He tackles these questions from different angles ranging from mechanistic neurophysiology to listening experiences in real social situations.