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Transcranial Stimulation Combined With Auditory Training

N/A
Waitlist Available
Research Sponsored by Boston University Charles River Campus
Eligibility Criteria Checklist
Specific guidelines that determine who can or cannot participate in a clinical trial
Must have
* 50 years of age or older
* Audiometric thresholds that do not exceed 90 dB HL at any frequency from 250-6000 Hz
Timeline
Screening 3 weeks
Treatment Varies
Follow Up days 1, 6, and 14 of the two-week auditory training
Awards & highlights
No Placebo-Only Group

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. 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

Who is the study for?
This trial is for individuals with hearing loss, specifically those who have difficulty understanding speech in noisy environments. Participants will need to complete an auditory training program at home and visit a lab four times for transcranial stimulation sessions.
What is being tested?
The study tests if transcranial stimulation can improve the ability to understand one person talking when there's background noise. It also examines whether this brain stimulation boosts the effects of an auditory training program compared to sham (fake) stimulation.
What are the potential side effects?
Transcranial current stimulation is generally considered safe but may cause mild side effects such as tingling, itching or stinging sensation on the scalp, headache, fatigue, or nausea during or after treatment.

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

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

Timeline

Screening ~ 3 weeks
Treatment ~ Varies
Follow Up ~days 1, 6, and 14 of the two-week auditory training
This trial's timeline: 3 weeks for screening, Varies for treatment, and days 1, 6, and 14 of the two-week auditory training for reporting.

Treatment Details

Study Objectives

Study objectives can provide a clearer picture of what you can expect from a treatment.
Primary study objectives
Hearing Handicap Inventory
Pupillometry measured listening effort
QuickSIN SNR Loss
+1 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
Placebo Group
Group I: Active transcranial stimulationExperimental Treatment2 Interventions
This group will receive active transcranial alternating current stimulation that matches the envelope of the target speech.
Group II: Sham stimulationPlacebo Group1 Intervention
This group will receive transcranial stimulation that ramps on and off before the speech is presented.
Treatment
First Studied
Drug Approval Stage
How many patients have taken this drug
Auditory training
2010
N/A
~160

Find a Location

Who is running the clinical trial?

National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)NIH
361 Previous Clinical Trials
182,203 Total Patients Enrolled
62 Trials studying Hearing Loss
21,606 Patients Enrolled for Hearing Loss
Boston University Charles River CampusLead Sponsor
123 Previous Clinical Trials
13,954 Total Patients Enrolled
2 Trials studying Hearing Loss
260 Patients Enrolled for Hearing Loss
~63 spots leftby Aug 2026
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