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Investigation of Anatomical Correlates of Speech Discrimination

Recruiting
Conditions
Sensorineural Hearing Loss
Registration Number
NCT01781039
Lead Sponsor
Steward St. Elizabeth's Medical Center of Boston, Inc.
Brief Summary

Understanding speech is essential for good communication. Individuals with hearing loss and poor speech discrimination often have little success with hearing aids because amplifying sound improves audibility, but not clarity of the speech signal. The purpose of this study is to determine the relative importance of the sensory cells of the inner ear and auditory neurons on speech discrimination performance in quiet and in noise. This information may be used as a predictor of hearing aid benefit. The investigators expect to find decreased speech understanding ability resulting from both loss of sensory cells and the loss of auditory neurons.

Detailed Description

Not available

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
RECRUITING
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
1652
Inclusion Criteria
  • Normal hearing to moderate sensorineural hearing loss
  • Sufficient English proficiency to complete speech discrimination testing in English
Exclusion Criteria
  • Hearing loss less than a 45 dB HL pure tone average (average hearing thresholds at 500, 1000 and 2000 Hz)
  • Conductive hearing loss
  • Neurodegenerative disease

Study & Design

Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Study Design
Not specified
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Regression analysisJune 2024

Regression analysis will be used to look for a correlation between measures of sensory cell and auditory neuron survival and speech recognition performance.

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Steward St. Elizabeth's Medical Center

🇺🇸

Brighton, Massachusetts, United States

Steward St. Elizabeth's Medical Center
🇺🇸Brighton, Massachusetts, United States
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