Effects of Asymmetries on Binaural-Hearing Abilities Across the Lifespan

NCT06953700 | Enrolling By Invitation

• 2 other identifiers: 19598521R21DC021825
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 150
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Binaural hearing involves combining auditory information across the ears. With binaural hearing, listeners benefit from perceiving sounds from different spatial locations. This is critical in solving the "cocktail party problem" (i.e., understanding speech in the presence of competing background sounds and noise). As humans get older, hearing loss increases, binaural abilities decrease, and the cocktail party problem becomes increasingly difficult. This research studies the mechanisms underlying the impact of age and hearing loss on speech-perception in noise and cocktail-party listening situations. More specifically, the role of hearing asymmetries between the ears is investigated. The specific aims are to generate an audiological and binaural-hearing-focused dataset for a large cohort of participants that vary in hearing asymmetry, age, and hearing loss and to use machine learning to uncover complex associations and generate novel hypotheses relating audiometric variables and basic binaural-hearing abilities to the cocktail-party problem. Participants in this research will complete perceptual measures of hearing acuity and spatial hearing. Participants will also report on speech understanding under noisy and challenging listening conditions. This research may lead to improvements in audiological care and hearing interventions.

Conditions

Aging; Hearing Loss; Hearing Asymmetry

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Sound localization

  A measure of sound localization ability (summarizing the ability using broadband and narrowband noise stimuli). Localization is the ability to accurately report the location from which a sound source originated. The difference between actual and reported locations is used for the measure. (Units, angle measure in degrees)

  After enrollment, in one visit lasting 1-2 hours

• Spatial release from masking

  A measure of speech understanding. Spatial release from masking is calculated by finding the difference in thresholds between listening with co-located vs. separated masking signals. (Units, dB)

  After enrollment, in one visit lasting 1-2 hours

Secondary Outcomes (5)

• Basic binaural sensitivity

  After enrollment, in one visit lasting 1-2 hours

• Cognitive assessment

  After enrollment, in one visit lasting 1-2 hours

• Audiological assessment of hearing thresholds

  After enrollment, in one visit lasting ~1 hour

• Auditory Brainstem Response

  After enrollment, in one visit lasting ~1 hour

• Distortion-Product Otoacoustic Emissions

  After enrollment, in one visit lasting ~1 hour

Study Arms (1)

Test of Hearing Function in Acoustic Hearing Listeners

EXPERIMENTAL

Diagnostic Test: Test of hearing function

Interventions

Test of hearing function DIAGNOSTIC_TEST

These are measurements of hearing acuity and spatial hearing.

Test of Hearing Function in Acoustic Hearing Listeners

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 80 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Adults (18-80 years)
• No hearing asymmetry between ears (≤10 dB at any frequency) or, hearing asymmetry between ears \>10 dB
• Native English speakers
• Primarily use oral language
• Sufficient corrected or uncorrected visual acuity (20/50 or better) to read large-font text

You may not qualify if:

• Acoustic tone-detection threshold \>50 dB HL at any octave frequency (250-4000 Hz) in either ear (i.e., more than a moderate hearing loss)
• History of neurological disorders (e.g., stroke, Parkinson's disease) determined by self-report
• History of post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injury determined by self-report
• Possibility of acoustic neuroma, hearing asymmetry (\>10 dB at three consecutive audiometric threshold frequencies)
• Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) score \<22/30
• No oral language use
• Cochlear implant user
• Conductive hearing loss

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Maryland, College Park: lead
• National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD): collaborator

Study Sites (1)

University of Maryland, College Park

College Park, Maryland, 20742, United States

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Hearing Loss

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Hearing Disorders; Ear Diseases; Otorhinolaryngologic Diseases; Sensation Disorders; Neurologic Manifestations; Nervous System Diseases; Signs and Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms

Study Officials

• Matthew J. Goupell, PhD

  University of Maryland, College Park

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

• Michael P. Cummings, PhD

  University of Maryland, College Park

  STUDY DIRECTOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NA
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: BASIC SCIENCE
• Intervention Model: SINGLE GROUP
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: April 15, 2025
• First Posted: May 1, 2025
• Study Start: June 17, 2024
• Primary Completion: May 1, 2026
• Study Completion: May 1, 2026
• Last Updated: May 1, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-04

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: STUDY PROTOCOL, SAP, ICF
• Time Frame: Following publication, available for at least seven years.
• Access Criteria: Investigators whose proposed use of the data has been approved by an independent review committee.

Locations

US (1)