Evaluating the Impact of Hearing Aid Signal Enhancement Algorithms in Real-World Contexts
Trial Snapshot
- Phase
- Not Applicable
- Status
- Recruiting
- Enrollment
- 45
- Locations
- 1
- Primary Endpoint
- Compare effectiveness of hearing aid signal enhancement on speech perception
Study Overview
Brief Summary
Researchers are doing this study to understand why hearing aids often work well in controlled laboratory settings but don't provide the same level of benefit in everyday noisy environments. The questions they hope to answer are:
- What factors contribute to hearing aid benefit in noisy environments
- What factors limit hearing aid benefit
- How do real-world factors interact with common hearing aid settings
Participants will complete:
- Hearing and listening tests
- Memory and attention assessment
- Surveys on their Smartphone
Detailed Description
This is study investigates how hearing aid signal processing algorithms and environmental factors in listening situations interact to affect listening outcomes. A crossover design is used to assess speech perception, listening effort, and user satisfaction across diverse acoustic contexts.
Study Design
- Study Type
- Interventional
- Allocation
- Na
- Intervention Model
- Single Group
- Primary Purpose
- Basic Science
- Masking
- None
Eligibility Criteria
- Ages
- 18 Years to — (Adult, Older Adult)
- Sex
- All
- Accepts Healthy Volunteers
- No
Inclusion Criteria
- •Over 18 years old
- •Symmetrical, bilateral, adult onset, sensorineural hearing loss
- •Experienced hearing aid users (> 3 months)
Exclusion Criteria
- •Under 18 years old
- •Conductive or mixed hearing loss
- •Asymmetrical or unilateral hearing loss
- •Pre-lingual or childhood hearing loss onset
- •No hearing aid experience
Arms & Interventions
Hearing aid + smartphone surveys
Participants will use study-provided hearing aids
Intervention: Hearing aid (Device)
Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Compare effectiveness of hearing aid signal enhancement on speech perception
Time Frame: 1 week
Participants will hear 3 different, 5 minute listening scenarios and answer the same survey questions for each. They will rate perception from 0% (understood nothing) to 100% (understood everything). Percentages will be compared across the 3 scenarios.
Compare effectiveness of hearing aid signal enhancement on listening effort
Time Frame: 1 week
Participants will hear 3 different, 5 minute listening scenarios and answer the same survey questions for each. They will rate how hard they had to work to understand what was said from 0% (no effort) to 100% (extremely hard). Percentages will be compared across the 3 scenarios.
Compare effectiveness of hearing aid signal enhancement on listening comfort
Time Frame: 1 week
Participants will hear 3 different, 5 minute listening scenarios and answer the same survey questions for each. They will rate how comfortable it was to listen from 0% (very comfortable) to 100% (very uncomfortable). Percentages will be compared across the 3 scenarios.
Compare effectiveness of hearing aid signal enhancement on sound quality
Time Frame: 1 week
Participants will hear 3 different, 5 minute listening scenarios and answer the same survey questions for each. They will rate the sound quality from 0% (very poor) to 100% (excellent). Percentages will be compared across the 3 scenarios.
Compare effectiveness of hearing aid signal enhancement on sound location
Time Frame: 1 week
Participants will hear 3 different, 5 minute listening scenarios and answer the same survey questions for each. They will rate how easy it was to tell where the sound was coming from, from 0% (could not tell) to 100% (very easy). Percentages will be compared across the 3 scenarios.
Compare effectiveness of hearing aid algorithms based on location
Time Frame: 1 week
Participants will complete the same survey questions for all three algorithms. Participants will select which option best describes the environment they are in when completing the hearing survey.
Secondary Outcomes
No secondary outcomes reported