Following the Sound of Music

NCT07772765 | Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: 26-06-08
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 216
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The proposed study will enroll healthy older adult participants to examine the effectiveness of music listening activities to promote hearing and cognition. Participants will be randomized into one of four experimental groups and can expect to participate for up to 21 hours of research distributed over 20 weeks.

Conditions

Music Listening; Auditory Processing; Attention

Keywords

Cognitive Training; Auditory Training; Music; Aging

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

• Digits-in-Noise Task

  The Digits-in-Noise (DIN) test presents trials of three sequential spoken digits against a broad-band, speech-shaped masker. Signal/noise ratio is varied adaptively to track 50% correct. The dependent variable is the threshold noise tolerance in dB. Lower scores indicate better performance.

  Pre-test (week 1), Mid-test (week 5), Post-test (week 10), Follow-up (week 18)

• Spatial Release From Masking Task

  Tests the ability to distinguish speech from competing speech. Collocated condition uses target and two competing maskers all located directly in front of the listener, and spatially separated condition uses two masking sentences sent from 45 degrees to the left and right of center. Sentences are correctly identified as part of a series of test trials in which TMR progressively reduced every two trials. The dependent variable is the threshold target-to-masker ratio (TMR) as estimated based on the number of sentences correctly identified. Lower scores indicate better performance.

  Pre-test (week 1), Mid-test (week 5), Post-test (week 10), Follow-up (week 18)

• Dichotic Sentence Identification Task

  The DSI test simultaneously presents two nonsense sentences, one to each ear. Participants indicate two sentences heard from a list of alternatives. DSI sentences are presented at a comfortable listening level, usually 50 dB above pure-tone average of each ear. The dependent variable is the percentage of sentences correctly identified. Higher scores indicate better performance.

  Pre-test (week 1), Mid-test (week 5), Post-test (week 10), Follow-up (week 18)

Secondary Outcomes (9)

• Revised Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly (RHHI)

  Pre-test (week 1), Post-test (week 10), Follow-up (week 18)

• Speech Recognition Threshold using Coordinate Response Measure

  Pre-test (week 1), Mid-test (week 5), Post-test (week 10), Follow-up (week 18)

• Gap Detection Task

  Pre-test (week 1), Post-test (week 10)

• Spectrotemporal Sensitivity Task

  Pre-test (week 1), Post-test (week 10)

• Monaural and Binaural Sensitivity to Frequency Modulation Task

  Pre-test (week 1), Post-test (week 10)

Other Outcomes (6)

• POMS 2-A

  Pre-test (week 1), Post-test (week 10), Follow-up (week 18)

• Ryff's Scale of Psychological Well-being Score

  Pre-test (week 1), Follow-up (week 18), Follow-up (week 18)

• Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (SWEMWBS)

  Pre-test (week 1), Follow-up (week 18), Follow-up (week 18)

Study Arms (4)

Sound of Music Plus Attention

EXPERIMENTAL

Behavioral: Music Listening with Attentional prompts

Sound of Music

EXPERIMENTAL

Behavioral: Music Listening

Sound of Tones Plus Attention

EXPERIMENTAL

Behavioral: Tone listening with Attentional prompts

Business as usual Control

NO INTERVENTION

Interventions

Music Listening with Attentional prompts BEHAVIORAL

Participants will listen to musical excerpts, and guided instructions will be provided to tell the participants what aspect of the music to pay attention to and how to respond. Participants will log responses on an interactive tablet-based interface.

Sound of Music Plus Attention

Music Listening BEHAVIORAL

Participants will listen to musical excerpts and will be provided with guided instructions directing their attention to specific aspects of the music. Participants will report when they perceive a noticeable change in the music (e.g., changes in instrumentation, rhythm, texture, or intensity). Participants will log responses on an interactive tablet-based interface.

Sound of Music

Tone listening with Attentional prompts BEHAVIORAL

Participants will be asked to attend to auditory stimuli and respond to them according to guided instructions. Participants will log responses on an interactive tablet-based interface.

Sound of Tones Plus Attention

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 60 Years - 101 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Age: 60+
• No self-reported auditory difficulties and normal or near-normal hearing sensitivity as measured by SRTs.
• Should have no more than typical hearing loss for their age and no evidence of dementia.
• Fluent in English and/or Spanish
• No more than two years of formal music training in childhood OR in the past 20 years

You may not qualify if:

• Abnormal vision or hearing prohibitive of training
• History of seizures, focal brain lesion, or head injury with loss of consciousness
• Physical handicap (motor or perceptual) that would impede training procedures
• Social, educational or economic hardship prohibitive to training schedule Concurrent enrollment in other cognitive training studies
• History of major psychiatric illness, including psychosis, bipolar disorder, depression, alcohol or substance abuse, recent bereavement
• Geriatric Depression Scale-15 (GDS-15) score of 6 or higher, indicating clinically significant depressive symptoms
• Not being proficient enough in English or Spanish that would prevent following and understanding all instructions and completing all testing sessions
• Diagnosis of dementia or other neurological disease, including mild cognitive impairment (MCI)
• Telephone-Montreal Cognitive Assessment (t-MoCA) score of 16 or less

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Northeastern University: lead

Study Sites (1)

Northeastern University

Boston, Massachusetts, 02115, United States

RECRUITING

Study Officials

• Susanne Jaeggi, PhD

  Northeastern University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

• Aaron Seitz, PhD

  Northeastern University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Audrey Carrillo, MA

CONTACT

‬626-482-8091; a.carrillo@northeastern.edu

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: DOUBLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: BASIC SCIENCE
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Professor of Psychology, Applied Psychology, Music

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: August 14, 2026
• First Posted: August 19, 2026
• Study Start (Estimated): October 19, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): May 31, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): August 31, 2027
• Last Updated: September 30, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-08

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: SAP, ICF
• Time Frame: Data will be available persistently at the conclusion of the study.
• Access Criteria: There are no access criteria.

Locations

US (1)