Recruiting

Neurofeedback

Sponsor:

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Code:

NCT07788638

Conditions

Tinnitus Aggravated

Tinnitus

Tinnitus, Subjective

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18 - 70

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

neurofeedback-guided brain connectivity modulation

sham neurofeedback-guided brain connectivity modulation

Study Details

Brief summary:

The broad goals of this project are to apply and validate the therapeutic utility of neurofeedback-guided intervention for tinnitus and its associated psychological sufferings. In this project, the investigators will evaluate whether targeted (non-auditory networks) neurofeedback-based training can restore emotional and cognitive health for individuals with bothersome tinnitus. The investigators will also link individual tinnitus scores with objective brain imaging measures before, during, and after the intervention. The investigators will accomplish these goals by using a combined brain imaging and behavioral experimental framework.

Conditions

Tinnitus Aggravated

Tinnitus

Tinnitus, Subjective

Study ID

NCT07788638

Start date

Aug 12, 2026

Status verified date

Aug, 2026

Completion date

Apr 15, 2027

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Dec 15, 2026

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18 - 70

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Non-pulsatile tinnitus for at least 6 months,
  • Bothersome tinnitus, based on a Tinnitus Functional Index score > 25,
  • Normal cognitive processing abilities, based on a Montreal Cognitive Assessment score> 25.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Clinically diagnosed dementia or Parkinson's disease,
  • Meniere's disease,
  • Severe physical or cognitive impairments that prevent completion of study tasks or scanning,
  • History of drug or alcohol abuse,
  • History of psychological or neurological illness, except for managed anxiety or depression,
  • Severe chronic health problems other than hearing loss or tinnitus,
  • Vision that is not normal or not corrected to normal,
  • Unable to meet MRI clinical safety screening requirements (e.g., metal in the body, pregnancy, certain implantable devices).

Study Design

Enrollment

20 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Single group

Primary purpose

Treatment

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Real feedback

The participant will recieve real feedback of their ongoing brain activity

sham comparator: Sham feedback

The participant will recieve pseudo feedback of brain activity, which may be from a non-related brain region, or from another participant's data

Interventions

neurofeedback-guided brain connectivity modulation

Real-time brain signal acquired through fMRI is used to measure ongoing functional connectivity of relevant brain regions (default mode network), and displayed to participants to mediate targeted regulation.

sham neurofeedback-guided brain connectivity modulation

Real-time brain signal acquired through fMRI on a different participant in the past is displayed to participants under this arm during feedback training.

Primary outcome measure

  • Score on the Tinnitus Functional Index [ Time Frame: Screening, post-intervention ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Fatima T Husain, PhD

217-333-2230tinnitus-ACNLab@illinois.edu

Locations

Beckman Institute Biomedical Imaging Centre

Recruiting

Urbana, Illinois, United States, 61820

Contacts

Principal Investigator

217-333-7561tinnitus-ACNLab@illinois.edu

More Information

Sponsor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Last update posted

Aug 26, 2026

Last verified

Aug, 2026

Keywords

  • tinnitus
  • neurofeedback
  • non-pharmocological
  • functional MRI
  • real-time fMRI

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-04. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign on 2026-08-26.