Active clinical trials for "Auditory Perceptual Disorders"

The proposed study aims to understand poor sleep as a possible cause to CAPD in children and adolescents with ASD (ASD+) compared to ASD youth without CAPD (ASD-), using both caregiver-report and objective clinician administered measures. Additionally, the study will aim to understand the complex relationship between CAPD, sleep, and other associated phenotypic features of ASD such as executive and psychiatric functioning.

Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) is a disorder where the functions of the ear are normal, but the person has difficulty identifying or discriminating sounds and experiences listening difficulties in noise. Remote Microphone Hearing Aids (RMHAs) are wireless listening devices that pick up the speaker's voice and transmit it to a receiver in the listener's ear. In this way, the negative effects of ambient noise, distance from speaker and reverberation are reduced. The research questions are whether RMHAs improve classroom listening, listening in noise performance, listening in spatialised noise and auditory attention, in children with APD. We hypothesize that RMHA use will lead to improved classroom listening and improved speech-in-noise skills after 6 months of RMHA use. Additionally, we hypothesise that listening in spatialised noise and attention skills will remain unchanged following the intervention period. Twenty-six (26) children aged 7-12 with a diagnosis of an APD from the Great Ormond Street Hospital Audiology clinic were included in the study.

A research project funded by the Reiss-Davis Child Study Center of Vista Del Mar (RDCSC/VDM) will be conducted on the Vista Del Mar campus of the RDCSC/VDM to evaluate the effectiveness of the Listening Project Protocol (LPP) in children who have difficulties with autonomic and behavior regulation in the classroom. The LPP is designed as a "neural exercise" to reduce auditory hypersensitivities, to improve auditory processing of speech, and to improve behavioral state regulation. The LPP uses acoustic stimulation to exercise the neural regulation of the middle ear structures to rehabilitate and to normalize the acoustic transfer function of the middle ear structures. The current study is being conducted to evaluate efficacy and feasibility of the LPP with emotionally disturbed and learning challenged young people and will use objective measures to evaluate changes in acoustic transfer function of the middle ears structures, auditory processing skills, physiological state regulation, sensory symptoms, and academic pre and post testing.

Older people experience great difficulty understanding speech, especially accented English, and this problem is expected to increase with the influx of immigrants who provide services to the elderly population. The research examines the underlying factors that contribute to older listeners' difficulty understanding accented speech, including those associated with age-related hearing loss, changes in processing in auditory pathways in the brain, and general cognitive decline. The investigation also evaluates the efficacy of training strategies to improve understanding of accented English by older people. Outcomes of this research are expected to improve communication between senior citizens and those with whom they interact daily, and thereby improve quality of life for the older segment of the Nation's population.

This study aimed to evaluate long term benefits in speech reception in noise, after daily 10 week use of an assisting listening device (personal frequency-modulates systems) , in non-aphasic stroke patients with auditory processing deficits.

A research project funded by the Australian Childhood Foundation (ACF) will be conducted in Australian facilities of the ACF to evaluate the effectiveness of the Listening Project Protocol (LPP) in children with a trauma history. The LPP is designed as a "neural exercise" to reduce auditory hypersensitivities, to improve auditory processing of speech, and to improve behavioral state regulation. The LPP uses acoustic stimulation to exercise the neural regulation of the middle ear structures to rehabilitate and to normalize the acoustic transfer function of the middle ear structures. The current study is being conducted to evaluate efficacy and feasibility of the LPP and will use objective measures to evaluate changes in acoustic transfer function of the middle ears structures, auditory processing skills, physiological state regulation, and sensory symptoms.

Background: People with epilepsy often have auditory processing disorders that affect their ability to hear clearly and may cause problems with understanding speech and other kinds of verbal communication. Researchers are interested in developing better ways of studying what parts of the brain are affected by hearing disorders and epilepsy, and they need better clinical tests to measure how individuals process sound. These tests will allow researchers to examine and evaluate the effects of epilepsy and related disorders on speech and communication. A procedure called a magnetoencephalography (MEG) can be used to measure the electrical currents involved in brain activity. Researchers are interested in learning whether MEG can be used to detect differences in the processing of simple sounds in patients with epilepsy, both with and without hearing impairments. Objectives: - To measure brain activity in hearing impaired persons with epilepsy and compare the results with those from people with normal hearing and epilepsy as well as people with normal hearing and no epilepsy. This research is performed in collaboration with Johns Hopkins Hospital and epilepsy patients must be candidates for surgery at Johns Hopkins. Eligibility: Individuals between 18 to 55 years of age who (1) have epilepsy and have hearing impairments, (2) have epilepsy but do not have hearing impairments, or (3) are healthy volunteers who have neither epilepsy nor hearing impairments. Participants with epilepsy must have developed seizures after 10 years of age, and must be candidates for grid implantation surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital.. Design: This study will require one visit of approximately 4 to 6 hours. Participants will be screened with a full physical examination and medical history, along with a basic hearing test. Participants will have a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan of the brain, followed by a MEG scan to record magnetic field changes produced by brain activity. During MEG recording, participants will be asked to listen to various sounds and make simple responses (pressing a button, moving your hand or speaking) in response to sounds heard through earphones. The MEG procedure should take between 1 and 2 hours. Treatment at NIH is not provided as part of this protocol.

In the management and remediation of students with specific performance deficits in speech-in-noise intelligibility, most often, a "triad" approach for treatment is used, which includes direct therapy, compensatory strategies, and environmental modifications. The purpose of the study is to determine whether a new hearing aid, the Phonak EduLink-FM System, can improve specific performance deficits in speech-in-noise intelligibility. Participants will complete a test battery related to auditory processing, as well as some psychological tests and questionnaires. One group of participants with specific performance deficits in speech-in-noise intelligibility will receive the hearing aid for use in school; a second group will not. The effect of this treatment on auditory performance, school performance and satisfaction, attention and verbal learning and memory, self concept, behavior and listening effort following 26 weeks of hearing aid use will be compared across the groups.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the central auditory processing in patients with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss and to observe the change of the central auditory processing ability after using hearing aids.

The incidence of central auditory dysfunction in war fighters who are exposed to high-explosive blasts while serving in combat have not been clearly determined. The objectives of this study are to determine whether central auditory processing (CAP) disorders are associated with exposure to high-explosive blasts. This study will also examine the incidence, magnitude and timing of spontaneous recovery of CAP function from blast exposure. The information provided by this study will help guide clinicians in both the military and VA health care systems regarding the likelihood of central auditory processing disorders in soldiers returning from deployment and suggest some clinical rehabilitative strategies for the treatment of these patients with CAP deficits.