View clinical trials related to Deafness.
Filter by:This is a retrospective and prospective longitudinal study in participants with Otoferlin Gene-Mediated Hearing Loss.
The current standard of care approach for programming cochlear implants uses a generalized pitch-map for all patients. This approach fails to account for individualized inner ear anatomy. As a result, many cochlear implant recipients experience place-pitch mismatch. We have recently developed an automated mathematical tool to produce patient-specific, customized cochlear implant pitch-maps (Helpard et al., 2021). In this study, cochlear implant recipients will be randomized to receive either the clinical default pitch-map (the control group) or a place-based pitch-map (the intervention group). Assessments will be conducted at multiple time-intervals to account for patient acclimation and plasticity to both the generalized and individualized pitch-maps. Audiological assessments will be tuned to identify patients' ability to discern pitch scaling and variation in sounds, as well as to understand complexities in speech such as mood and tone. Audiological testing will be conducted in collaboration with the National Centre for Audiology (London, ON) to ensure that the most accurate and relevant metrics are applied.
Older adults who use cochlear implants to address hearing loss show wide variation in benefit. This research investigates the role of normal aging, the health of peripheral and central auditory pathways, and positioning of the cochlear implant electrode array in contributing to this variability. A range of input types from simple auditory signals to spoken sentences is used to examine these questions.
Hearing loss is the fourth highest cause of disability globally. Current data suggest that approximately 5% of the world's population suffer from disabling hearing loss, Earlier studies have shown that persons with hearing loss experience a higher prevalence of associated adverse health effects than persons with normal hearing. Those conditions include social isolation, depression, diabetes, dementia, falling, cardiovascular disease, and reduced quality of life. A limitation to disability-based questionnaires related to hearing loss is the large number of instruments available and the lack of consensus on which questionnaires to use. To do so, applying the World Health Organization's International Classification of Functioning Disability and Health (ICF) framework was found to be an ideal design foundation. In the ICF, functioning refers to positive aspects of Body Functions, Activities, and Participation, while disability refers to impairments, activity limitations, and participation restrictions, in which both aspects can be influenced by a health condition(s) and or contextual (personal and environmental) factors. Previous studies showed that the operationalization of the ICF Core Sets for HL into a self-assessment tool can serve as the foundation for a comprehensive picture of health. To accommodate this need, a collaboration between group of researchers at Audiology Clinic, Auburn university, Alabama, USA have been conducted. This partnership resulted in creating an English and German version of questionnaire that comprehensively assesses and individuals hearing functioning profile according to ICF framework which is called HEAL-COMMAND Tool
Hearing loss maybe: -Symmetrical: in which the severity and pattern of hearing loss are the same in each ear. Or -Asymmetrical: is defined as binaural difference in bone conduction thresholds of >10 dB at two consecutive frequencies or >20 dB at one frequency (0.25-8.0 kHz), Poorer speech perception will often accompany poorer hearing and may be the reason for the patient's presentation .Unilateral or asymmetrical sensorineural hearing loss is important to discern, as it is an important risk factor for auditory nerve tumors (i.e. vestibular schwannoma) which is a life threatening condition, and in such cases further investigation is required (i.e. MRI scan) unless there is a known reason for the asymmetry, Several reports have recommended that further evaluation, especially expensive imaging studies, be conducted to rule out acoustic tumors when AHL is present
The specific aims of the research study are: 1. Compare single-task gait parameters between individuals with hearing loss (HL) and age and education matched controls with normal hearing [normal vs moderate-profound hearing loss (N=23 for each group)]. For that we will compare the primary outcome measure, gait speed, between the groups while participants are walking at a comfortable speed for 1 minute. 2. Compare cognitive function between individuals with HL and age and education matched controls. For that we will compare the Neurocognitive Index, derived from a cognitive assessment between groups. 3. Compare the effect of a cognitive task while walking on gait parameters between people with HL and age education matched controls with normal hearing. For that we will compare the primary outcome measure, gait speed, between groups while participants are walking at a comfortable speed and counting backwards [serial subtraction of 3] for 1 minute. 4. Explore whether cognitive performance (i.e., the Neurocognitive Index) is correlated with Dual task cost (DTC), a deterioration of gait speed while walking and performing concurrent cognitive task [serial subtraction of 3]. The formula to calculate this is the following: DTC = 100 X [(DT - single task)/ single task].
The primary objective of this study is to determine the (long term) effect of intervention with a CI in adult participants with progressive postlingual moderate/severe-to-profound sensorineural hearing loss on societal related outcomes (participation; communication profile; autonomy; cognition; listening effort; work; productivity loss; income; medical consumption; third party quality of life; quality of life, and capability). The secondary objective is to determine the effect of CI waiting time between referral and CI surgery on the same societal related outcomes, in the adults with postlingual moderate/severe-to-profound sensorineural hearing loss.
Internal research on the manufacturer's hearing aid products has idenitfied areas in which the investigators can improve the hearing aid frequency response curve. This study aims to investigate the current freqeuncy response curve in the manufacturer's products to variations of these curves to determine if hearing aid users prefer the variations over the manufacturer's standard curve.
This trial will evaluate a multilevel intervention (STAR model) that combines mobile health (mHealth) hearing screening tools with telemedicine technology for specialty care access in rural Kentucky schools. An initial version of the model was used in rural Alaska where telemedicine-based specialty referral improved both proportion of children receiving follow-up and time to follow-up. The refined STAR model will utilize an enhanced mHealth screening protocol that includes tympanometry for the detection of middle ear disease. The STAR model will also include a specialty telemedicine referral process in schools for children who refer school screening.
This study will improve the understanding of the cerebral mechanisms that underlie the control of auditory selective attention and evaluate the potential of neuromodulation to enhance neural attention control as a possible way to overcome hearing impairment. First, electroencephalography (EEG) will be applied to identify neural marker of auditory attention in individuals with hearing loss (HL), tinnitus (TI) and normal hearing (NH). Afterwards, the importance of the identified markers for attention control will be tested using non-invasive transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) and neurofeedback (NF).