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Hearing Disorders and DeafnessListenFutureNCT07416292

ListenFuture-Listening for Their Future: Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Adolescents

An observational study of Hearing Disorders and Deafness, run by Heikki Löppönen at 7 sites in Finland.

Recruiting

Looking for participants now. Contact the study team or a site below to ask about taking part.

Sites and contacts
Official record

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Trial summary

ListenFuture, a nation-wide multidisciplinary project, brings new knowledge on complex associations between listening, cognition, language, literacy, and psychosocial wellbeing in deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) adolescents. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 11 to 16 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
Conditions the study is for
Hearing Disorders and Deafness
How many people
256 participants
Where
7 sitesFinland
Study dates
1 Mar 2026to 31 Dec 2031
Phase
Observational

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 11 to 16 years
  • All sexes
  • Healthy volunteers accepted
  • Child

Study population: Children with hearing loss are voluntary participants who are in care at the university hospitals in Finland. Children with typical hearing are voluntary participants from the cities of Finland.

Who may be able to join

  • Group 1
  • Bilateral mild to complete hearing loss
  • Group 2:
  • Typical hearing (PTA<20dB)
  • Typical cognitive, linguistic and literacy development

Who cannot join

  • Group 1 and Group 2:
  • heart conditions
  • developmental brain disorders
  • chromosome anomalies
  • severe inner ear anomalies
  • impairments in both distance senses hearing and vision
  • Group 2:
  • concerns regarding attention and psychosocial wellbeing

Trial locations and contacts

7 sites in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.

Heikki J Löppönen, MD Professor contact

+358405656183

heikki.lopponen@uef.fi

Taina T Välimaa, PhD Professor contact

+358405399432

taina.valimaa@abo.fi

7 sites in 1 country

Finland7 sites, 7 recruiting

  • Helsinki University Hospital

    Helsinki, 00029

    Antti A Aarnisalo, MD PhD, +35850563458, antti.aarnisalo@hus.fi

    Recruiting

  • Kuopio University Hospital / University of Eastern Finland

    Kuopio, 70029

    Aarno J Dietz, MD Professor, +3580447172849, aarno.dietz@pshyvinvointialue.fi

    Recruiting

  • University of Oulu

    Oulu, 90014

    Sari M Kunnari, PhD Professor, +358294483392, sari.kunnari@oulu.fi

    Recruiting

  • Oulu University Hospital

    Oulu, 90220

    Jaakko Laitakari, MD PhD, +35883153027, jaakko.laitakari@pohde.fi

    Recruiting

  • Tampere University Hospital

    Tampere, 33101

    Jarno Kujansivu, MD, +358331164891, jarno.kujansivu@pirha.fi

    Recruiting

  • Turku University Hospital

    Turku, 20521

    Tytti Willberg, MD PhD, +35823135979, tytti.willberg@varha.fi

    Recruiting

  • Åbo Academy University

    Turku, 20700

    Taina T Välimaa, PhD Professor, +358405399432, taina.valimaa@abo.fi

    Recruiting

Other trials in Finland

About this study

Official title: ListenFuture-Listening for Their Future: The Complex Associations Between Hearing, Cognition, Spoken Language, Literacy and Psychosocial Wellbeing in Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Adolescents

ListenFuture, a nation-wide multidisciplinary project, brings new knowledge on complex associations between listening, cognition, language, literacy, and psychosocial wellbeing in deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) adolescents. Earlier findings indicate that DHH adolescents remain at a risk to achieving age-appropriate skills. The associations among these skills can also be language-dependent. The investigators use behavioral methods and questionnaires. The investigators study speech perception in noise, listening, and listening-related fatigue to reveal how DHH adolescents cope in today's noisy environment. The investigators study cognitive skills and executive functions, spoken language and literacy skills to find out the current state-of-knowledge. The investigators study psychosocial wellbeing, school burnout and factors associated with them. The investigators will utilize supervised and interpretable machine learning to analyse the performance domains that could best predict the outcomes of DHH adolescents. The investigators expect our project to have broad societal impact for DHH adolescents, healthcare, school, and other stakeholders.

Read the detailed description

ListenFuture provides comprehensive insights into challenges deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) adolescents face in speech perception, language, and literacy, skills essential for use, creation, and integration of information. The investigators will explore the following skills and their complex associations: 1) auditory speech perception, 2) cognitive skills and executive functions, 3) spoken language, 4) literacy, and 5) psychosocial wellbeing and school burnout. The investigators will analyse the demographic, cognitive, speech perception and language processing domains that best predict the outcomes. ListenFuture has the potential to enhance the wellbeing and participation of DHH adolescents and provide valuable information for intervention services and policy making.

Keywords
burnout, cognition, fatigue, language, listening, literacy, noise
Medical subject headings
Hearing Disorders, Deafness, Burnout, Psychological, Fatigue, Language, Literacy

What participants receive

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

Study groups in NCT07416292
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
children with hearing losschildren with mild-complete hearing loss
children with typical hearingnormal hearing

What is being measured

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

  1. Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals (CELF5)

    General language skills. Measurement of language performance against age-matched peers

    Measured: Day 1

Secondary outcomes (1)

  1. Assessment of reading, writing and arithmetic skills (LUKILASSE)

    Assessment of school skills in relation to the goals required by the grade level (in Finnish language)

    Measured: Day 1

Timeline

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

  1. First posted18 Feb 2026
  2. Study start1 Mar 2026 (estimated)
  3. Primary completion31 Dec 2029 (estimated)
  4. Study completion31 Dec 2031 (estimated)

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
Case-control
Time perspective
Cross-sectional
Enrolment
256 participants (estimated)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT07416292
Sponsor's protocol ID
5551909
Acronym
ListenFuture
Status last verified
Feb 2026
First submitted
10 Feb 2026
Last updated
25 Feb 2026
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
Individual data sharing
Yes: anonymized and published outcome data can be shared with other researchers when the research completed

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