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Auditory-Cognitive Training for Difficulty Understanding Speech in Older Adults

N/A

Recruiting

Led By Samira B Anderson, PhD

Research Sponsored by University of Maryland, College Park

Eligibility Criteria Checklist

Specific guidelines that determine who can or cannot participate in a clinical trial

Must have

Normal hearing (pure tone thresholds ≤ 25 dB HL from 250 - 8000 Hz)

Aged between 65 - 85 years

Must not have

Currently taking psychoactive stimulant (e.g., amphetamines), depressant (e.g., benzodiazepines), mood stabilizing (e.g., lithium), anti-psychotic, or anti-seizure medications or drugs of abuse

Middle-ear or inner-ear pathology

Timeline

Screening 3 weeks

Treatment Varies

Follow Up week 1-2 (pretest) and week 5-6 (posttest)

Awards & highlights

No Placebo-Only Group

Summary

This trial is testing a new way to help older adults who struggle to understand speech, especially in noisy environments. The goal is to see if this new auditory-cognitive training paradigm is more effective than the current method of using hearing aids.

Who is the study for?

This trial is for older adults aged 65-85 with normal hearing and vision, fluent in American English, and have at least a high school education. It's not suitable for those with head injuries, claustrophobia affected by MRI environments, metal implants incompatible with MEG/MRI scans, learning disorders, ear pathologies or taking certain psychoactive medications.

What is being tested?

The study tests if a new auditory-cognitive training can improve understanding speech in noisy situations for older adults. Participants will be divided into three groups: one watching videos (control), another doing auditory exercises recalling sentences from conversations, and the third group performing more complex memory tasks.

What are the potential side effects?

Since this trial involves non-invasive cognitive training rather than medication or surgery, side effects are minimal but may include fatigue or frustration during challenging tasks. The use of pupillometry and magnetoencephalography should pose little to no risk.

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

You may be eligible if you check “Yes” for the criteria below

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My hearing is normal across all tested frequencies.

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I am between 65 and 85 years old.

Exclusion Criteria

You may be eligible for the trial if you check “No” for criteria below:

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I am currently taking medication for mood, psychosis, seizures, or use recreational drugs.

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I have a condition affecting my middle or inner ear.

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I am currently being treated for a head injury.

Timeline

Screening ~ 3 weeks3 visits

Treatment ~ Varies

Follow Up ~ week 1-2 (pretest) and week 5-6 (posttest)

Screening ~ 3 weeks

Treatment ~ Varies

Follow Up ~week 1-2 (pretest) and week 5-6 (posttest)

This trial's timeline: 3 weeks for screening, Varies for treatment, and week 1-2 (pretest) and week 5-6 (posttest) for reporting.

Treatment Details

Study Objectives

Study objectives can provide a clearer picture of what you can expect from a treatment.

Primary study objectives

Audiobook - Change in Magnetoencephalography (MEG) network localized granger causality

Audiobook - Change in frequency following response (FFR)

Audiobook - Change in magnetoencephalography (MEG) temporal response function

+3 more

Secondary study objectives

Audiobook - Change in subjective ratings

N-back task - Change in accuracy

N-back task - Change in response time (RT)

+3 more

Awards & Highlights

No Placebo-Only Group

All patients enrolled in this study will receive some form of active treatment.

Trial Design

2Treatment groups

Experimental Treatment

Group I: Auditory-cognitive training paradigmExperimental Treatment1 Intervention

Participants perform speech-in-noise perception tasks with real-world scenarios. A short-term memory component is added to the training paradigm to make the task more engaging and challenging.

Group II: Auditory training paradigmExperimental Treatment1 Intervention

Participants perform speech-in-noise perception tasks with real-world scenarios.

Treatment

First Studied

Drug Approval Stage

How many patients have taken this drug

Auditory-cognitive training paradigm

2021

N/A

~20

0 / 5Eligibility criteria met