Hearing Loss
Conditions
Keywords
auditory perception, hearing
Brief summary
Hearing aids are being fit on inexperienced hearing aid users and the short-term and long-term effects are measured. This research aims to improve understanding of the individual factors that contribute to receiving benefit from hearing aids and lead to more individualized treatment of hearing loss.
Detailed description
Hearing aids are used to improve audibility for patients with hearing loss and improve speech perception. In addition to these immediate benefits, amplification has the potential to have long-term effects on higher level auditory processing abilities, such as cognition or other abilities required for complex listening tasks. These long-term acclimatization effects are not well understood and merit further behavioral and physiological examination. Hearing aids will be fit on inexperienced hearing aid users and outcome measures will be used to determine immediate and long-term effects of hearing aids. This research may provide a more detailed view of individual differences that contribute to receiving benefit from a hearing aid and may lead to more individualized treatment of hearing loss.
Interventions
DEVICEhearing aids
Subjects are fit with hearing aids.
Sponsors
VA Office of Research and Development
Study design
Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
50 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* 50 years of age or older * Bilateral, mild to moderately severe hearing loss * Inexperienced hearing aid users
Exclusion criteria
* Subject deciding that they do not wish to wear hearing aids as necessitated per study protocol * Audiometric thresholds that suggest research stimuli would not be audible * Conductive hearing loss and/or other significant ear or hearing problems * Non-native English speakers * Conditions or circumstances that would preclude a participant from wearing hearing aids consistently or finishing the study * An inability to perform or complete the experimental tasks
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Evoked potential latency | Approximately 1 year | Latency will be measured in milliseconds |
| Evoked potential amplitude | Approximately 1 year | Amplitude will be measured in microvolts |
| Frequency following response magnitude | Approximately 1 year | Magnitude of response measured in nanovolts |
| Frequency following response timing | Approximately 1 year | Timing measured by cross-correlation between stimulus and response |
| Ongoing electroencephalography power | Approximately 1 year | EEG power as a function of frequency recorded during words-in-noise measure |
| Montreal Cognitive Assessment score | Approximately 1 year | Assessment score from 1 to 30 |
| Reading Span | Approximately 1 year | Percent correct recall on working memory task |
| Hearing aid usage | Approximately 1 year | Data logging from the hearing aid will provide usage in hours per day |
| Word-in-noise perception testing | Approximately 1 year | Signal-to-noise ratio at which participant correctly understands 50% of speech in noise using WIN test |
| Listening invested/required effort | Approximately 1 year | Participants' rating of the effort required (0-9) and invested (0-9) for listening task |
| Working memory testing | Approximately 1 year | Performance on auditory working memory task |
| Glasgow Hearing Aid Benefit Profile (GHABP) | Approximately 1 year | Participants rating on five-point scale their perceived initial (i.e., unaided) hearing disability, initial handicap, aided benefit, aided handicap, HA use and HA satisfaction in four listening situations |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed