Recruiting

Hearing-Aid Approaches

Sponsor:

Boston University Charles River Campus

Code:

NCT05260307

Conditions

Hearing Loss

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18 - 70+

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Interventions

hearing aid condition

Study Details

Brief summary:

The purpose of this study is to investigate several approaches for improving spatial perception and speech intelligibility in multitalker listening situations for hearing-aid users. The hypotheses are that spatial perception and speech intelligibility will be improved by (1) increased high-frequency audibility, (2) speech envelope enhancement, and/or (3) appropriate sound image externalization.

Conditions

Hearing Loss

Study ID

NCT05260307

Start date

Mar 9, 2022

Status verified date

Sep, 2025

Completion date

Nov 30, 2026

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Nov 30, 2026

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18 - 70+

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Inclusion Criteria: Normal-Hearing Subjects

  • 18 to 35 years of age
  • Audiometric thresholds that do not exceed 20 dB HL at any frequency from 250 to 8000 Hz
  • Able to provide informed consent and understand experimental instructions
  • Normal or corrected-to-normal vision

Inclusion Criteria: Hearing-Impaired Subjects

  • 18 to 80 years of age
  • Documented sensorineural hearing loss
  • Able to provide informed consent and understand experimental instructions
  • Normal or corrected-to-normal vision

Exclusion Criteria (some experiments)

  • Non-native speakers of English

Study Design

Enrollment

220 participants

Anticipated

Intervention Model

Single group

Primary purpose

Basic Science

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

other: Experimental condition

Participants will be presented with sound stimuli under a number of experimental conditions that simulate different hearing-aid conditions.

Interventions

hearing aid condition

The intervention will be a hearing aid or a modification to the sound stimulus that simulates a hearing aid configuration, style, or processing strategy.

Primary outcome measure

  • Speech intelligibility at baseline [ Time Frame: Baseline ]
  • Speech intelligibility post-intervention [ Time Frame: Up to 4 hours ]
  • Speech reception threshold at baseline [ Time Frame: Baseline ]
  • Speech reception threshold post-intervention [ Time Frame: Up to 4 hours ]
  • Interaural time difference discrimination at baseline [ Time Frame: Baseline ]
  • Interaural time difference discrimination post-intervention [ Time Frame: Up to 4 hours ]
  • Externalization rating at baseline [ Time Frame: Baseline ]
  • Externalization rating post-intervention [ Time Frame: Up to 4 hours ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Virginia A Best, PhD

(617) 353-2622ginbest@bu.edu

Christine Mason

cmason@bu.educmason@bu.edu

Locations

Boston University

Recruiting

Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02215

Contacts

Virginia Best

617-353-2622ginbest@bu.edu

Principal Investigator:

Virginia A Best, PhD

More Information

Sponsor

Boston University Charles River Campus

Last update posted

Sep 24, 2025

Last verified

Sep, 2025

Keywords

  • Hearing Aids
  • Speech Intelligibility
  • Spatial Hearing
  • Cocktail Party
  • Audibility
  • Sound Image Externalization
  • Speech Envelope

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-10. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by Boston University Charles River Campus on 2025-09-24.