Understanding Individual Listening Strategies

NCT06962540 | Enrolling By Invitation

• 1 other identifier: STU00221736
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 30
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if hearing aid settings that are customized to individual listening strategies result in better speech understanding than non-customized hearing aid settings. The main question it aims to answer is: Do customized hearing aid settings result in better speech understanding? Researchers will compare hearing aid settings that match individual listening strategy to a general setting. Participants will: Wear hearing aids for a 2-hour visit to our laboratory. Listen to some sentences in noise and repeat the sentences they hear, with two different hearing aid settings Listen to some sentences in noise and rate how understandable they think those sentences are, with two different hearing aid settings

Conditions

Hearing Loss, Sensorineural

Keywords

Speech Recognition; Hearing Aids

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Speech recognition

  Participants listen to and repeat sentences, they are scored based on the % correct of keywords they accurately repeat.

  Outcome measure is collected during the intervention, a two hour visit to the lab where they are wearing the hearing aids

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Speech Spatial Quality

  Outcome measure is collected during the intervention, a two hour visit to the lab where they are wearing the hearing aids

Study Arms (2)

Customized to match listening strategy First

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Participants in this arm will listen to hearing aid settings programmed to match their listening strategy first, then the general setting

Device: Hearing aid with settings customized to match their individual listening strategy; Device: Hearing Aid with settings based on audiogram alone

Not customized to match listening strategy First

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Participants will listen to hearing aid settings based only on their pure-tone thresholds first (general hearing aid settings), then ones programmed to match their listening strategies.

Device: Hearing aid with settings customized to match their individual listening strategy; Device: Hearing Aid with settings based on audiogram alone

Interventions

Hearing Aid with settings based on audiogram alone DEVICE

Behind-the-ear hearing aids that have been programmed based on their hearing loss and typical clinical settings.

Also known as: General Hearing Aid Settings

Customized to match listening strategy First; Not customized to match listening strategy First

Hearing aid with settings customized to match their individual listening strategy DEVICE

Behind-the-ear hearing aids that have been programmed based on the participant's individual listening strategy and hearing loss.

Also known as: Customized Hearing Aid Settings

Customized to match listening strategy First; Not customized to match listening strategy First

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 90 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Sensorineural hearing loss

You may not qualify if:

• Montreal Cognitive Assessment \< 23 points

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Northwestern University: lead

Study Sites (1)

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois, 60208, United States

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Hearing Loss, Sensorineural

Interventions

Hearing Aids

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

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

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Wearable Electronic Devices; Electrical Equipment and Supplies; Equipment and Supplies; Sensory Aids

Study Officials

• Pamela Souza, PhD

  Northwestern University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT
• Masking Details: Participants will not know when they are listening to a hearing aid that is programmed with general or customizable settings.
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: CROSSOVER
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Professor

Model Details: Participants will listen to hearing aids programmed specifically for their listening strategies or to ones programmed with typical clinical settings first, then switch strategies.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: December 2, 2024
• First Posted: May 8, 2025
• Study Start: April 18, 2025
• Primary Completion (Estimated): July 1, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): July 1, 2027
• Last Updated: May 4, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-04

Locations

US (1)