Hearing LossMACINCT04099368
Music Appreciation After Cochlear Implantation
A study testing Musical pitch training in people with Hearing Loss and Cochlear Implants, run by University of Southern California at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
This project aims to characterize the emergence of music appreciation in people who have suffered hearing loss and have been provided with partial restoration of hearing through cochlear implantation. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 13 years and olderHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Hearing Loss, Cochlear Implants
- What is being tested?
- Musical pitch training
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 120 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 1 Oct 2019to 1 Jan 2025
- Phase
- Interventional
- 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 13 years and older
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Child, Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Teenage and adult cochlear implant users
Who cannot join
- Children younger than 13
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
United States1 site
Keck School of Medicine of USC
Los Angeles, California, 90033
About this study
This project aims to characterize the emergence of music appreciation in people who have suffered hearing loss and have been provided with partial restoration of hearing through cochlear implantation. Music appreciation is complex and transverses multiple domains including hearing acuity, speech and language acquisition, and quality of life. By studying these relationships in people who have been given partial hearing restoration, the investigators will clarify the role of music for promoting recovery from debilitating loss.
Read the detailed description
Cochlear implants are medical devices that restore a remarkable degree of hearing to people who would otherwise be profoundly deaf. These devices generally restore enough hearing that recipients can understand spoken speech even in noisy environments. However, most recipients express dissatisfaction with music. This proposal centers on understanding the challenges that implant users face and the strategies that they adopt as they learn to appreciate music with this new way of hearing.
The proposed research is organized into three aims:
Aim 1: Characterize music appreciation after cochlear implantation. The proposed research balances qualitative and quantitative methods to examine the emergence of music appreciation after cochlear implantation. Qualitative methods will include semi-structured interviews and focus groups designed to clarify the obstacles that implant users face as they learn to appreciate music with their new sense of hearing. Quantitative methods include surveys of music appreciation and quality of life, and auditory assessments of music and speech perception. The primary hypothesis is that music appreciation is predictive of key domains of quality of life including positive affect and well-being, and satisfaction with social roles and activities.
Aim 2: Determine if pitch training improves cochlear implant speech comprehension. The proposed research tests for a causal relationship between pitch salience and key features of speech perception including talker discrimination, prosody detection, and speech recognition in competing speech. Cochlear implant users and their normal-hearing peers will take part in a crossover study to determine if pitch training improves aspects of music and speech perception compared to a visual task used as a control. The primary hypothesis is that pitch training will improve speech comprehension for cochlear implant users, but not for their normal-hearing peers.
Aim 3: Test the limits of pitch coding in cochlear implants. The proposed research bypasses conventional sound processing to study the salience of pitch provided by electrode location and stimulation rate. These two stimulation cues are the primary cues for providing a sense of pitch to cochlear implant users. New research has shown that implant users are able to learn to use this information to hear pitch with better resolution far better than previously thought. The primary hypothesis is that cochlear implant users have a latent ability to hear pitch associated with stimulation rate, but that they require experience to learn how to hear this new information.
In each aim, psychophysical methods are combined with measures of EEG and near-infrared spectroscopy. The results will establish the importance of music training for improving cochlear implant outcomes, both in terms of hearing abilities and quality of life. The results will lead to changes in how music is encoded into implant stimulation, providing better outcomes for recipients. More generally, this project will shape understanding of neural coding of music and its role in social adjustment following traumatic experiences.
- Conditions
- Hearing Loss, Cochlear Implants
- Being tested
- Musical pitch training
- Medical subject headings
- Hearing Loss
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Musical pitch trainingBehavioural
Also called Auditory rehabilitation
Crossover design with one group receiving musical training as rehabilitation, second group receiving visual training first as a control rehabilitation.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Auditory | Experimental | Group receives training on listening to musical pitch differences between sounds as the first component of a crossover trial. The intervention is the listening exercises. Exercises are completed daily as 30-minute sessions for 4 weeks. Hearing assessment outcomes of speech comprehension in background noise and of musical pitch sensitivity are conducted at baseline and at midpoint and endpoint. Receives: Behavioral: Musical pitch training |
| Visual | Active comparator | Group receives training on visual differences between objects on a computer screen as the first component of a crossover trial. This is a control measure for the auditory training exercises. Exercises are completed daily as 30-minute sessions for 4 weeks. Hearing assessment outcomes of speech comprehension in background noise and of musical pitch sensitivity are conducted at baseline and at midpoint and endpoint. Receives: Behavioral: Musical pitch training |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Change in Pitch Discrimination measured using Psychophysical Procedures
Change in auditory resolution of fundamental frequency is measured using psychophysical procedures.
Measured: Measure collected at 0, 4, and 8 week mark to examine change in discrimination thresholds.
Secondary outcomes (1)
Change in Speech Recognition Thresholds measured using Psychophysical Procedures
Speech recognition thresholds measured using adaptive procedures for speech recognition in different types of background noise.
Measured: Measure collected at 0, 4, and 8 week mark to examine change in speech recognition thresholds.
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted23 Sep 2019
- Study start1 Oct 2019
- Primary completion1 Jan 2025
- Study completion1 Jan 2025
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Hearing LossStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Crossover
- Masking
- Single blind
- Who is masked
- Participant
- Enrolment
- 120 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- University of Southern California
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- Ohio State University, University of California, Merced
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Raymond Goldsworthy, University of Southern California
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT04099368
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 1R01DC018701-01
- Acronym
- MACI
- Status last verified
- Jun 2025
- First submitted
- 17 Sep 2019
- Last updated
- 26 Dec 2025
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 26 Dec 2025. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Music Appreciation After Cochlear Implantation
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT04099368
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- MACI / 1R01DC018701-01
- Conditions
- Hearing Loss, Cochlear Implants
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 120 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- University of Southern CaliforniaUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- Ohio State University, University of California, Merced
- Study start
- 1 Oct 2019 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 1 Jan 2025 (actual)
- Study completion
- 1 Jan 2025 (actual)
- First posted
- 23 Sep 2019 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
This project aims to characterize the emergence of music appreciation in people who have suffered hearing loss and have been provided with partial restoration of hearing through cochlear implantation. Music appreciation is complex and transverses multiple domains including hearing acuity, speech and language acquisition, and quality of life. By studying these relationships in people who have been given partial hearing restoration, the investigators will clarify the role of music for promoting recovery from debilitating loss.
Detailed description
Cochlear implants are medical devices that restore a remarkable degree of hearing to people who would otherwise be profoundly deaf. These devices generally restore enough hearing that recipients can understand spoken speech even in noisy environments. However, most recipients express dissatisfaction with music. This proposal centers on understanding the challenges that implant users face and the strategies that they adopt as they learn to appreciate music with this new way of hearing.
The proposed research is organized into three aims:
Aim 1: Characterize music appreciation after cochlear implantation. The proposed research balances qualitative and quantitative methods to examine the emergence of music appreciation after cochlear implantation. Qualitative methods will include semi-structured interviews and focus groups designed to clarify the obstacles that implant users face as they learn to appreciate music with their new sense of hearing. Quantitative methods include surveys of music appreciation and quality of life, and auditory assessments of music and speech perception. The primary hypothesis is that music appreciation is predictive of key domains of quality of life including positive affect and well-being, and satisfaction with social roles and activities.
Aim 2: Determine if pitch training improves cochlear implant speech comprehension. The proposed research tests for a causal relationship between pitch salience and key features of speech perception including talker discrimination, prosody detection, and speech recognition in competing speech. Cochlear implant users and their normal-hearing peers will take part in a crossover study to determine if pitch training improves aspects of music and speech perception compared to a visual task used as a control. The primary hypothesis is that pitch training will improve speech comprehension for cochlear implant users, but not for their normal-hearing peers.
Aim 3: Test the limits of pitch coding in cochlear implants. The proposed research bypasses conventional sound processing to study the salience of pitch provided by electrode location and stimulation rate. These two stimulation cues are the primary cues for providing a sense of pitch to cochlear implant users. New research has shown that implant users are able to learn to use this information to hear pitch with better resolution far better than previously thought. The primary hypothesis is that cochlear implant users have a latent ability to hear pitch associated with stimulation rate, but that they require experience to learn how to hear this new information.
In each aim, psychophysical methods are combined with measures of EEG and near-infrared spectroscopy. The results will establish the importance of music training for improving cochlear implant outcomes, both in terms of hearing abilities and quality of life. The results will lead to changes in how music is encoded into implant stimulation, providing better outcomes for recipients. More generally, this project will shape understanding of neural coding of music and its role in social adjustment following traumatic experiences.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Crossover
- Masking
- Single blind (participant)
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Auditory | Experimental | Behavioral: Musical pitch trainingGroup receives training on listening to musical pitch differences between sounds as the first component of a crossover trial. The intervention is the listening exercises. Exercises are completed daily as 30-minute sessions for 4 weeks. Hearing assessment outcomes of speech comprehension in background noise and of musical pitch sensitivity are conducted at baseline and at midpoint and endpoint. |
| Visual | Active comparator | Behavioral: Musical pitch trainingGroup receives training on visual differences between objects on a computer screen as the first component of a crossover trial. This is a control measure for the auditory training exercises. Exercises are completed daily as 30-minute sessions for 4 weeks. Hearing assessment outcomes of speech comprehension in background noise and of musical pitch sensitivity are conducted at baseline and at midpoint and endpoint. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 13 years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Child, Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (1 listed)
- Teenage and adult cochlear implant users
Key exclusion criteria (1 listed)
- Children younger than 13
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Musical pitch trainingAlso: Auditory rehabilitationCrossover design with one group receiving musical training as rehabilitation, second group receiving visual training first as a control rehabilitation. | Behavioural | Auditory, Visual |
Primary outcome
Change in Pitch Discrimination measured using Psychophysical Procedures
Time frame: Measure collected at 0, 4, and 8 week mark to examine change in discrimination thresholds.
Change in auditory resolution of fundamental frequency is measured using psychophysical procedures.
1 secondary outcome
Change in Speech Recognition Thresholds measured using Psychophysical Procedures
Time frame: Measure collected at 0, 4, and 8 week mark to examine change in speech recognition thresholds.
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 26 Dec 2025.
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
The record lists no contact. Use the official record to reach the sponsor.
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Musical pitch training in people with Hearing Loss and Cochlear Implants, run by University of Southern California at 1 site in United States.
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 1 inclusion and 1 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 26 Dec 2025. 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 States. 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?
Change in Pitch Discrimination measured using Psychophysical Procedures (time frame: Measure collected at 0, 4, and 8 week mark to examine change in discrimination thresholds.). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
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 26 Dec 2025.