Hearing Loss
Conditions
Brief summary
A methodical evaluation of novel sound changing principles in CE-labelled Sonova brand hearing instruments (e.g. Phonak hearing instruments) is intended to be conducted on hearing impaired participants. These sound changing principles are enabled by respective hearing instrument technologies and hearing instrument algorithms. The aim of the study is to investigate and asses strength and weaknesses of these novel sound changing principles in terms of hearing performance to determine their application in hearing instruments (Phase of development). Both, objective laboratory measurements as well as subjective evaluations in real life environment will be carried out. This will be a controlled, single blinded and randomised active comparator clinical evaluation which will be conducted mono centric at Sonova AG Headquarter based in Stäfa
Interventions
DEVICEHearing Aid without NR
Each participant will be fitted with the 4 different Noise Reduction (Sound Changing) principles on the same hearing aid, saved to 4 manual programs. Noise Reduction principle is a sound processing algorithm to remove noise from a speech signal to improve the speech intelligibility and comfort. The experimental conditions vary in their parametrization to result in different degrees of noise suppression and good speech quality.
DEVICEHearing Aid with NR_A
Each participant will be fitted with the 4 different Noise Reduction (Sound Changing) principles on the same hearing aid, saved to 4 manual programs. Noise Reduction principle is a sound processing algorithm to remove noise from a speech signal to improve the speech intelligibility and comfort. The experimental conditions vary in their parametrization to result in different degrees of noise suppression and good speech quality.
DEVICEHearing Aid with NR_B
Each participant will be fitted with the 4 different Noise Reduction (Sound Changing) principles on the same hearing aid, saved to 4 manual programs. Noise Reduction principle is a sound processing algorithm to remove noise from a speech signal to improve the speech intelligibility and comfort. The experimental conditions vary in their parametrization to result in different degrees of noise suppression and good speech quality.
DEVICEHearing Aid with NR_C
Each participant will be fitted with the 4 different Noise Reduction (Sound Changing) principles on the same hearing aid, saved to 4 manual programs. Noise Reduction principle is a sound processing algorithm to remove noise from a speech signal to improve the speech intelligibility and comfort. The experimental conditions vary in their parametrization to result in different degrees of noise suppression and good speech quality.
Sponsors
Sonova AG
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
CROSSOVER
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE (Subject)
Intervention model description
Each participant will be treated with each sound changing principle (Noise Reduction principle (NR)) in a randomized order.
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 99 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Healthy outer ear (without previous surgical procedures) * Ability to fill in a questionnaire conscientiously * Informed Consent as documented by signature
Exclusion criteria
* Contraindications to the MD in this study, e.g. known hypersensitivity or allergy to the investigational product * Limited mobility and not in the position to attend weekly appointments * Limited ability to describe listening impressions/experiences and the use of the hearing aid * Inability to produce a reliable hearing test result * Massively limited dexterity * Known psychological problems * Known central hearing disorders * colour blinded
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Sound quality ratings | 4 weeks | The sound quality ratings will be assessed with the aid of a Multi-Stimulus Test. The data, serving as the primary outcome measure, are collected in the laboratory and will use a continuous rating scale. The scale ranges from 0 very bad to 100 very good in increments of 1. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Oldenburg sentence test & manual tracking task | 4 weeks | A dual task paradigm will be used in which the Oldenburg Sentence test in noise will be administered as a primary task, and the subject will manually track a point on a computerised elliptical track as a secondary task. The aim is to recall as many words from the presented sentence at a predefined SNR and track the point as accurately as possible at the same time. The SNR is set as the level at which a subject reaches a speech reception threshold of 80-90%. The data derived, serving as a secondary outcome measure, are a \[%\] of time on target and distance error from the target. |
| Oldenburg sentence test in noise | 4 weeks | The data, serving as secondary outcome is a Signal to noise ratio (SNR) in decibel (dB) where a 50% speech reception threshold is reached. This outcome measurement will be carried out in the laboratory. |
| Adaptive Categorial Listening Effort Scaling (ACALES) | 2 weeks | The ACALES procedure determines self-reported individual listening effort on a scale from extreme effort to no effort within a signal-to-noise ratio range that corresponds to individual subject perceptions. The data, serving as a secondary outcome, are a set of points on a categorial scale (subjectively perceived listening effort) as a function of different SNRs. |
| Self-report form | One week | A qualitative questionnaire with predefined questions and comment sections to gather information on individual perceptions regarding the comparison of two different hearing programs during different laboratory-based acoustic scenes. For details of the hearing aid settings, see study arms. The data collected from this questionnaire are scores on a continuous rating scale ranging from hearing program A is much worse than hearing program B to hearing program B is much better than hearing program A and any subjective comments given. |
Other
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| color-word-interference test by J.R.Stroop | 1 week | The color-word- interference test (Farb-Wort-Interferenztest nach J.R.Stroop (version: Günther Bäumler)) is a neuropsychological test of visual attention and interferer suppression and will be carried out in the laboratory. In the first trial, the subject has to read the names of colours written on a card as fast and accurately as possible. In the second trial, the subject has to name the colour ink of filled boxes on a card as quickly and accurately as possible. In the third trial, the names of colours are written on a card in a dissimilarly coloured ink. The participant must read aloud the written words, whilst ignoring the colour of the ink. The data, serving as an outcome measure, are time-to-complete the sets in seconds. |
| Non-verbal Trail Making Test A & B | 1 week | The Trail Making Test is a neuropsychological test of visual attention and task switching. It consists of two parts in which the subject is instructed to connect a set of 25 dots as quickly as possible while still maintaining accuracy. The data, serving as an outcome measure, are time-to-complete the set in seconds. |
| Interaural Phase Difference (IPD) Detection thresholds | 1 week | A 2 Interval - 2 Alternative Forced Choice task to measure the psychometric function of IPD detection with changing stimulus frequency. The data, serving as an outcome measure, is the individual interaural phase difference (IPD) frequency threshold (the frequency up to which 75% correct answers are given). |
Countries
Switzerland
Outcome results
None listed