Study of a Signal-processing Algorithm Aiming at Improving Speech-in-noise Intelligibility in Normal-hearing and Hearing-impaired Persons

Not Applicable

Recruiting

• Conditions: Speech Intelligibility in Noise

• Registration Number: NCT04775810
• Lead Sponsor: Archean Technologies

Brief Summary

Nearly half a billion people suffer from disabling hearing loss. The most common form of hearing loss in adults is age-related hearing loss (ARHL), which causes a reduced ability to understand speech in noisy environments. The ability of people with ARHL to communicate is therefore greatly impacted, limiting their social interactions and thus their quality of life. Yet, the wear of hearing aids - which is the current standard rehabilitation treatment in such cases - does not lead to optimal satisfactory outcomes when it comes to understanding speech in noisy environments.

The objective of this pilot study is to test a new signal-processing algorithm, based on artificial intelligence, that aims at enhancing the intelligibility of speech-in-noise signals. The efficiency of the algorithm is compared to a standard denoising algorithm commonly used in hearing aids. The primary outcome measure is the word-identification performance of the participants, using the FrMatrix test (Jansen et al., 2012). Two secondary outcome measures are investigated: listening effort (self-assessed using a Likert scale, and measured through response times), and subjective preference (assessed in a paired-comparison task).

The study is conducted in 20 normal-hearing subjects and in 40 older (age ≥ 55 years) hearing-impaired subjects.

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Study First Submitted: 2021-02-22
• Study First Submitted QC: 2021-02-26
• Study First Posted: 2021-03-01
• Study Start: 2021-10-12
• Status Verified: 2022-11
• Last Update Submitted: 2022-11-14
• Last Update Posted: 2022-11-17
• Primary Completion: 2023-01
• Study Completion: 2023-01

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: RECRUITING
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 60

Inclusion Criteria

Not provided

Exclusion Criteria

Not provided

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: SINGLE_GROUP

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Speech-in-noise word identification	during procedure, T1	Speech-in-noise word identification score as assessed using the FrMatrix test

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Subjective preference in terms of speech naturalness	during procedure, T1	Measures of relative preference using forced-choice pairwise comparisons
Listening effort	during procedure, T1	self-assessed subjective measures of listening effort.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Clinique Rive Gauche; 🇫🇷 Toulouse, France