Difficulties Understanding Speech in NoiseNCT06738030
Transcranial Stimulation Combined With Auditory Training
A study testing Transcranial current stimulation and Auditory training in people with Difficulties Understanding Speech in Noise, run by Boston University Charles River Campus at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if non-invasive brain stimulation (called transcranial stimulation) can enhance the benefits from auditory training in people who struggle to understand one talker when many people are talking at the same time. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 50 years and older
- Conditions the study is for
- Difficulties Understanding Speech in Noise
- What is being tested?
- Transcranial current stimulation and Auditory training
- Type of treatment
- Medical device, Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- Yes, some participants may receive a placebo
- How many people
- 94 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 7 Nov 2025to Jul 2027
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- Not yet: the study is under way
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 50 years and older
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- 50 years of age or older
- Audiometric thresholds that do not exceed 90 dB HL at any frequency from 250-6000 Hz
- Able to provide informed consent and understand experimental instructions
- Able to read print on a computer screen
- Difficulty with speech-on-speech understanding
- Access to computer or mobile phone with access to internet that can play sound (for the at-home training)
Who cannot join
- Non-native speakers of English
- History of skull fracture, scalp tissue damage, metallic implants around the head, seizures, neurological disorders, or traumatic brain injury, current or suspected pregnancy
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
United States1 site, 1 recruiting
- Recruiting
Communication Neuroscience Research Lab at Boston University
Boston, Massachusetts, 02215
Tyler Perrachione, PhD, 617-358-7410, tkp@bu.edu
Monique Montoute, mmontout@bu.edu
About this study
The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if non-invasive brain stimulation (called transcranial stimulation) can enhance the benefits from auditory training in people who struggle to understand one talker when many people are talking at the same time. The main questions it aims to answer are:
- Does transcranial stimulation improve speech-on-speech understanding in people who struggle with this task?
- Does transcranial stimulation enhance the benefits of a commercially available auditory training program?
Read more
Researchers will compare transcranial stimulation to sham stimulation (no stimulation is applied during the listening task).
Participants will:
- Receive login information to an online auditory training program to complete at home over 2 weeks
- Visit the laboratory 4 times to receive transcranial stimulation while listening to speech-on-speech: once before at-home training, two times during the at-home training period, and once after at-home training has ended
- Being tested
- Transcranial current stimulation, Auditory training
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Transcranial current stimulationDevice
The transcranial alternating current stimulation is delivered during the speech stimulus and the current matches the envelope of the target speech
Auditory trainingBehavioural
An at-home auditory training program that adaptively and interactively trains the listener in degraded speech, cognitive skills, and communication strategies
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Active transcranial stimulation | Experimental | This group will receive active transcranial alternating current stimulation that matches the envelope of the target speech. Receives: Device: Transcranial current stimulation; Behavioral: Auditory training |
| Sham stimulation | Sham comparator | This group will receive transcranial stimulation that ramps on and off before the speech is presented. Receives: Behavioral: Auditory training |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Speech-on-speech intelligibility percent correct
Percent correct score on the speech-on-speech task assessed in the lab
Measured: From enrollment to the end of participation at 6 weeks
Pupillometry measured listening effort
The peak pupil dilation subtracted from pre-trial baseline pupil dilation, averaged across trials in a block, assessed in the lab
Measured: From enrollment to the end of participation at 6 weeks
QuickSIN SNR Loss
A speech-in-noise test assessed as part of the at-home auditory training program
Measured: Days 1, 6, and 14 of the two-week auditory training
Hearing Handicap Inventory
A listening effort questionnaire given as part of the at-home auditory training program
Measured: Days 1 and 14 of the two-week auditory training program
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted17 Dec 2024
- Study start7 Nov 2025
- Primary completionJul 2027 (estimated)
- Study completionJul 2027 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Difficulties Understanding Speech in NoiseStudies 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
- Parallel groups
- Model description
- Participants are randomly assigned to active transcranial stimulation or sham stimulation groups.
- Masking
- Double blind
- Who is masked
- Participant, Investigator
- Enrolment
- 94 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Boston University Charles River Campus
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
- Investigators
- Elin Roverud, AuD, PhD, Principal investigator, Boston University Charles River Campus
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06738030
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 7799E
- Other IDs
- R21DC021763
- Status last verified
- Oct 2026
- First submitted
- 9 Dec 2024
- Last updated
- 19 Oct 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- Yes
- Individual data sharing
- Yes: The complete archive of all de-identified (anonymized) experimental data will be made available via Boston University's institutional archive repository "OpenBU". This will include individual participant scores on tasks and pupil dilation data. The data will be labeled with a unique study ID.
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 19 Oct 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Transcranial Stimulation Combined With Auditory Training
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06738030
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- 7799E
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Recruiting
- Enrolment
- 94 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- Boston University Charles River CampusUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)
- Study start
- 7 Nov 2025 (actual)
- Primary completion
- Jul 2027 (estimated)
- Study completion
- Jul 2027 (estimated)
- First posted
- 17 Dec 2024 (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.
The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if non-invasive brain stimulation (called transcranial stimulation) can enhance the benefits from auditory training in people who struggle to understand one talker when many people are talking at the same time. The main questions it aims to answer are:
- Does transcranial stimulation improve speech-on-speech understanding in people who struggle with this task?
- Does transcranial stimulation enhance the benefits of a commercially available auditory training program?
Researchers will compare transcranial stimulation to sham stimulation (no stimulation is applied during the listening task).
Participants will:
- Receive login information to an online auditory training program to complete at home over 2 weeks
- Visit the laboratory 4 times to receive transcranial stimulation while listening to speech-on-speech: once before at-home training, two times during the at-home training period, and once after at-home training has ended
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Double blind (participant, investigator)
- Number of arms
- 2
- Model description
- Participants are randomly assigned to active transcranial stimulation or sham stimulation groups.
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Active transcranial stimulation | Experimental | Device: Transcranial current stimulation, Behavioral: Auditory trainingThis group will receive active transcranial alternating current stimulation that matches the envelope of the target speech. |
| Sham stimulation | Sham comparator | Behavioral: Auditory trainingThis group will receive transcranial stimulation that ramps on and off before the speech is presented. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 50 years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (6 listed)
- 50 years of age or older
- Audiometric thresholds that do not exceed 90 dB HL at any frequency from 250-6000 Hz
- Able to provide informed consent and understand experimental instructions
- Able to read print on a computer screen
- Difficulty with speech-on-speech understanding
Key exclusion criteria (2 listed)
- Non-native speakers of English
- History of skull fracture, scalp tissue damage, metallic implants around the head, seizures, neurological disorders, or traumatic brain injury, current or suspected pregnancy
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Transcranial current stimulationThe transcranial alternating current stimulation is delivered during the speech stimulus and the current matches the envelope of the target speech | Device | Active transcranial stimulation |
| Auditory trainingAn at-home auditory training program that adaptively and interactively trains the listener in degraded speech, cognitive skills, and communication strategies | Behavioural | Active transcranial stimulation, Sham stimulation |
Primary outcome
Speech-on-speech intelligibility percent correct
Time frame: From enrollment to the end of participation at 6 weeks
Percent correct score on the speech-on-speech task assessed in the lab
Pupillometry measured listening effort
Time frame: From enrollment to the end of participation at 6 weeks
The peak pupil dilation subtracted from pre-trial baseline pupil dilation, averaged across trials in a block, assessed in the lab
QuickSIN SNR Loss
Time frame: Days 1, 6, and 14 of the two-week auditory training
A speech-in-noise test assessed as part of the at-home auditory training program
Hearing Handicap Inventory
Time frame: Days 1 and 14 of the two-week auditory training program
A listening effort questionnaire given as part of the at-home auditory training program
Results and safety
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 19 Oct 2026.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: Yes. The complete archive of all de-identified (anonymized) experimental data will be made available via Boston University's institutional archive repository "OpenBU". This will include individual participant scores on tasks and pupil dilation data. The data will be labeled with a unique study ID.
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.
Elin Roverud, AuD, PhD principal investigator
Boston University Charles River Campus
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Transcranial current stimulation and Auditory training in people with Difficulties Understanding Speech in Noise, run by Boston University Charles River Campus 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 6 inclusion and 2 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: looking for participants now, as of the sponsor's last update on 19 Oct 2026. 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. Some participants in this study may receive a placebo. 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?
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
Contact Elin Roverud, AuD, PhD (617-358-7440, erover@bu.edu), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Speech-on-speech intelligibility percent correct (time frame: From enrollment to the end of participation at 6 weeks). The study lists 4 primary outcomes in all. 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 19 Oct 2026; AzTrials last refreshed its copy on 28 Oct 2026.