Direct-to-Consumer Hearing Aids and Listening Effort

Hearing Loss Clinical Trial

Official title:

Investigation of Direct-to-consumer Hearing Aids on Conversation Efficiency and Listening Effort

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT05855005
• Other study ID #: STU00217791
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: October 25, 2022
• Est. completion date: December 30, 2023

Study information

• Verified date: May 2024
• Source: Northwestern University
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

The aim of this proposed project is to understand whether direct to consumer (DTC) hearing aids programmed to individual hearing losses, can reduce listening effort for effective communication. If DTC aids can provide benefits beyond amplification, then they could be an affordable option to reduce barriers to care and improve hearing aid uptake in adults with hearing loss.

Description:

Hearing loss is the third most common chronic health condition in the United States, affecting individuals of any age. According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders approximately 15% of all adults over age 18 in the United States have reported some trouble with their hearing, and one in eight people in the United States (about 30 million) aged 12 and older have hearing loss in both ears. However, about 28.8 million US adults who could benefit from hearing aids do not wear them. The current model of dispensing hearing aids could be a barrier to adoption by those who could benefit from amplification. Possible barriers from the current model include cost and ability to visit a hearing care professional required to purchase, adjust and repair a hearing aid.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a proposal in 2021 to make hearing care more accessible for Americans, known as the Over-the-Counter Hearing Aid Act, part of the FDA Reauthorization Act of 2017. Unlike conventional hearing aids, these devices will not require appointments to an audiologist for adjustments. Due to their affordability and easy access, DTC hearing aids have the potential to reach more individuals with hearing loss. Despite the many potential benefits that DTC hearing aids could offer, there is little research into their use to meet unique patient listening needs and the accuracy of self-guided hearing aid fittings.

The investigators will evaluate the benefit of DTC hearing aids via questionnaires and a conversation task the participant engages in with a familiar speaker.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 30
• Est. completion date: December 30, 2023
• Est. primary completion date: December 1, 2023
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: All
• Age group: 18 Years to 90 Years

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Speak English as their primary language

2. No vision impairment that would interfere with the ability to complete study tasks (i.e., legally blind, severe cataracts, or macular degeneration)

3. Bilateral mild to moderate sensorineural or mixed hearing loss

4. Pass a cognitive screener

5. Minimum Grade 10 education

6. Ability to attend all study visits

7. Eligible communication partner who can attend first study visit.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Clinically significant unstable or progressive medical conditions, or conditions which, in the opinion of the investigator(s) places the participant at unacceptable risk if he or she were to participate in the study

2. History of unresolved communication difficulties following another neurological problem (i.e., stroke or brain tumor), neurodevelopmental disorder (i.e., Down's syndrome), or head/neck cancer

3. Diagnosis of dementia or cognitive impairment

4. Positive history of major psychiatric disorder (i.e., schizophrenia, significant untreated depression)

5. Co-enrolled in other intervention studies targeting hearing, language, or communication strategies

6. History or current fluctuating hearing loss

7. Evidence of conductive hearing loss

8. Current active hearing aid wearer (defined as wearing hearing aid(s) at least 4 hours a day for most days within the past year)

9. Current active hearing aid wearer within 30-day trial period of purchased hearing aids from a licensed provider

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Deafness
• Hearing Loss
• Hearing Loss, Bilateral
• Hearing Loss, Sensorineural

Intervention

Device:
• DTC Hearing Aids
DTC hearing aid programmed to the individual participant.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
United States	Northwestern University	Chicago	Illinois
United States	Northwestern University	Evanston	Illinois

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Northwestern University

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United States, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Diapix Conversation Task: Average Time Per Correctly Identified Difference	Participant and their communication partner discuss pictures with slight differences and attempt to locate all the differences by discussion alone. Primary measurement is average time for each correctly identified difference. A decrease in time indicates improved efficiency in the task.	Task is completed at first study visit (typically 2 hours) after hearing aid fitting, with and without hearing aids.
Secondary	Pupillometry and Recall Repeat Task (RRT)	Participant completes the RRT, a measure of memory and reported listening effort where the listener repeats pre-recorded sentences as they are presented and is then asked to recall them 15 seconds later.	Task will be completed at second study visit (about one hour). second visit usually takes place 1-2 weeks after first visit.