AzTrials
AzTrials

Hearing LossNCT03279367

Optimisation of Hearing Aid Fitting

An observational study of Hearing Loss and Hearing Abnormality, run by University of Southampton at 1 site in United Kingdom.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
Search all trials

Trial summary

This study aims to explore if objective brain responses to speech stimuli (words and running speech) can be used to evaluate hearing aid fitting in adults. Objective brain responses would be beneficial, as they could be used to evaluate hearing with people who are incapable or unwilling to provide subjective… Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 to 70 years
Conditions the study is for
Hearing Loss, Hearing Abnormality
What is being tested?
Objective speech response detection
How many people
20 participants
Where
1 siteUnited Kingdom
Study dates
22 Dec 2017to 30 Sep 2018
Phase
Observational
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 18 to 70 years
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Adult, Older adult

Study population: Subjects will be included if they are between 18 and 70 years old, are native English speakers and have mild to moderate hearing loss in their better ear measured using current clinical standards. They will be identified from their medical records of the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust by the Co-Investigators who are trained and qualified clinical audiologists at the Trust. Subjects will be routine hearing aid users.

Who may be able to join

  • Subjects are between 18 and 70 years old
  • Native English speakers
  • Have mild to moderate hearing loss in their better ear measured using current clinical standards
  • Routine hearing aid users

Who cannot join

  • Clinical observation indicates the presence of ear infections or an occluded ear canal on the day of testing
  • Subjects with recent ear surgery (within a month before the day of testing)
  • Subjects who are taking substances that could affect brain responses (e.g. medication for the treatment of depression)

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

United Kingdom1 site
  • Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust

    Reading, Berkshire, RG15LE

Other trials in United Kingdom

About this study

Official title: Objective Response Detection to Natural Speech Stimuli for Optimisation of Hearing Aid Fitting Evaluation

This study aims to explore if objective brain responses to speech stimuli (words and running speech) can be used to evaluate hearing aid fitting in adults. Objective brain responses would be beneficial, as they could be used to evaluate hearing with people who are incapable or unwilling to provide subjective responses. The study aims to determine if EEG responses to speech sounds are sensitive to the effects of hearing aids for hearing aid users. Secondary, the study will look into the need for using speech stimuli in order to obtain more robust responses compared to current clinical standards.

Read the detailed description

The research questions addressed are as follows

  1. Are speech-evoked objective brain responses sensitive to hearing aid amplification?
  2. Are speech-evoked brain responses sensitive to distortions in speech and can hearing aid amplification resolve issues with brain responses to distorted speech?
  3. Which tests are optimal for detection of objective brain responses to speech?
  4. Are realistic speech stimuli (words or running speech) able to robustly detect brain responses compared to current clinical standards (clicks and tones)? The study will be carried out on a group of mildly to moderately hearing impaired subjects between the age of 18 and 70. Subjects will be recruited from the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust, where the research will be conducted. Participants will have their hearing function and hearing aid fitting checked as described in the design and methodology section of this proposal. During the experiment, participants will be asked to listen to speech sounds presented from a loudspeaker at comfortable listening levels. The responses will be measured with the participant wearing and not wearing hearing aids. Additionally, participants will perform a behavioural task for perception of speech. Participants will be asked to attend 2 sessions of 2 hours. Data collection will run over 1 year.
Being tested
Objective speech response detection
Keywords
Hearing Loss, Hearing Abnormality
Medical subject headings
Hearing Loss

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • Objective speech response detectionDiagnostic test

    Changes in brain activity when a speech stimulus is presented will be measured using electro-encephalography (EEG)

Study groups in NCT03279367
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Hearing ImpairedParticipants will be asked to wear an electro-encephalography (EEG) cap for measurement of brain activity whilst listening to speech stimuli. The speech stimuli will be presented through a loudspeaker positioned 1 meter in front of the participant. Participants will be asked to listen to the speech stimuli when using and without using their hearing aid. They will be asked to pay attention to the speech stimuli. This will be assured by asking them to answer questions related to the speech stimulus at random intervals. Subjects will also go through standard clinical procedures for assessing their hearing function and hearing aid setup.
Receives: Diagnostic Test: Objective speech response detection

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Objective response detection

    Detection success rate and time for obtaining a brain response to the sound stimuli.

    Measured: Immediate

Secondary outcomes (2)
  1. Improved statistical test

    Hotelling's T2 test to objectively determine the presence of a response compared to background noise.

    Measured: Immediate

  2. Stimulus reconstruction

    Correlation test to determine the accuracy of the estimated speech stimulus using the decoder compared to the presented speech stimulus for running speech.

    Detection of auditory brainstem and auditory steady state potential characteristic peaks and troughs for responses to click and tone stimuli, respectively.

    Measured: Immediate

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted12 Sep 2017
  2. Study start22 Dec 2017
  3. Primary completion1 Sep 2018
  4. Study completion30 Sep 2018

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Observational
Observational model
Cohort
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrolment
20 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT03279367
Sponsor's protocol ID
30123
Status last verified
Jul 2021
First submitted
8 Sep 2017
Last updated
30 Jul 2021
Results posted
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
Individual data sharing
No: Anonymised data will be collected and stored in Pure/ePrints at the University of Southampton along with a metadata file describing the procedure and providing participant demographics such as age and gender. Anonymised data will also be stored on password-protected University computers and backed up on password-protected hard drives. Anonymised data will be kept available for public access (for research and teaching purposes) under guidelines of the University of Southampton for at least 10 years. Clear information regarding the storage and possible reuse of anonymized data will be given to the participant prior to the experiment. Participants will have the possibility to opt out of this data sharing policy.

Publications

  • Vanheusden FJ, Kegler M, Ireland K, Georga C, Simpson DM, Reichenbach T, Bell SL. Hearing Aids Do Not Alter Cortical Entrainment to Speech at Audible Levels in Mild-to-Moderately Hearing-Impaired Subjects. Front Hum Neurosci. 2020 Apr 3;14:109. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2020.00109. eCollection 2020.

    PubMed 32317951
  • Vanheusden FJ, Chesnaye MA, Simpson DM, Bell SL. Envelope frequency following responses are stronger for high-pass than low-pass filtered vowels. Int J Audiol. 2019 Jun;58(6):355-362. doi: 10.1080/14992027.2018.1562243. Epub 2019 Jan 24.

    PubMed 30675827
  • Vanheusden FJ, Bell SL, Chesnaye MA, Simpson DM. Improved Detection of Vowel Envelope Frequency Following Responses Using Hotelling's T2 Analysis. Ear Hear. 2019 Jan/Feb;40(1):116-127. doi: 10.1097/AUD.0000000000000598.

    PubMed 29757799

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

An observational study of Hearing Loss and Hearing Abnormality, run by University of Southampton at 1 site in United Kingdom.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 4 inclusion and 3 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 30 Jul 2021. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in United Kingdom. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Objective response detection (time frame: Immediate). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT03279367, which also lists 3 linked publications.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 30 Jul 2021; AzTrials last refreshed its copy on 27 Oct 2026.

Free account

Keep searching with a free account

You’ve used your 3 free searches for this session. Log in or create a free AzTrials account to keep searching clinical trials and save the ones you want to follow.

Create a free accountLog in