Active clinical trials for "Deafness"

The purpose of the study is to evaluate the efficacy of a prototype app for the self-fitting of hearing aids.

Computer-assisted speech training is a speech recognition training system developed for cochlear implant users. With minimal facilities and skills, cochlear implant users can conduct this training at home. The purpose of this study was to apply this system to adolescent and young adult hearing aid users with prelingual severe to profound hearing loss.

The objective of this study is to investigate benefits of binaural hearing for non-traditional cochlear implant candidates (with Asymmetric Hearing Loss). Asymmetric candidates are patients with severe to profound hearing loss in one ear and better hearing in the other ear. (One ear is deaf and the other ear has better hearing and in most cases uses a hearing aid.) The investigators hypothesize that cochlear implantation of the poorer ear provides a functional increase in word and sentence understanding in quiet or noise, perceived benefit, localization ability, and other measures of auditory performance relative to use of the better hearing ear alone.

People with single-sided deafness (SSD) have significant hearing loss in one ear and normal or near normal hearing in the other ear. Those living with SSD experience several communication difficulties, particularly when listening to speech in the presence of background noise. This problem is worse in situations where the noise is on the side of the good ear and the speech is on the side of the poor ear. The Bone-anchored hearing device (BAHD) and the Contralateral Routing of Signals (CROS) hearing aid are two intervention methods designed to improve hearing in people who have significant hearing loss in one ear only. The BAHD is a surgically implanted device which also includes an external processor; sounds from the poor ear are transmitted to the good ear through skull vibrations. The CROS does not involve surgery; instead a hearing aid is fitted behind each ear, and the sounds on the side of the poor ear are wirelessly transmitted to the good ear. The majority of previous studies comparing the BAHD to the CROS have used older CROS models with basic technology and a wire along the neck to send sounds from the poor ear to the good ear. There is a lack of studies comparing newer digital wireless CROS hearing aids to the BAHD. The current research will compare the effect of the BAHD and CROS hearing aid on speech perception scores when listening to speech in quiet and in noise. The research will also investigate participants' reported benefits with each device during everyday situations. In order to compare the BAHD and CROS, individuals who already have been implanted with a BAHD will be given a trial period with a new wireless digital CROS hearing aid. The research hypothesis states that the CROS hearing aid will be as equally beneficial or greater than the BAHD in improving hearing and participant benefit. If the findings support the hypothesis that the CROS offers just as much benefits as the BAHD, or is an even better alternative, more individuals with SSD may choose to avoid surgery and decide to receive a CROS hearing aid instead.

The objective of this study is to examine the safety, tolerability, and effects on hearing thresholds of two single doses of PF-04958242 and placebo in subjects with age-related hearing loss.

Objectives To evaluate the safety of processor loading of the Cochlear BI300/BA400 implant system 1 week after implantation To evaluate the short term soft tissue healing and the long term skin reaction, with the new Cochlear BI300/BA400 implant system using the linear incision without subcutaneous tissue reduction. To produce reference data regarding the stability of the BI300/BA400 implant system. Study design: Prospective cohort study. Patients: 24 adults with anticipated normal skin and bone quality eligible for bone anchored implant surgery. Intervention: Loading of the sound processor one week after surgery Main outcome measures: Implant stability, soft tissue reaction, skin overgrowth, pain and numbness will be assessed. It is hypothesized that implant loading can be performed one week after surgery without any changes in implant stability, soft tissue reaction, skin overgrowth, pain or numbness around implant.

Cisplatin is a key chemotherapy agent for the treatment of multiple childhood cancers but causes permanent hearing loss. This study investigates the drug N-acetylcysteine (NAC) to determine the dose necessary to protect hearing and also how well tolerated NAC is when combined with chemotherapy.

Children with special needs require complex, individualized therapy to maximize their long-term quality of life. One subset of children with special needs includes those with both developmental delays and deafness. Currently, there is little compelling evidence supporting the idea that cochlear implantation provides benefit to children that don't have the cognitive potential to develop normal speech and language. We will perform a prospective, randomized clinical trial to answer the question of which intervention provides more benefit to this population of children using validated, norm-referenced tests. Our long-term goal is to develop guidelines that may help when selecting a treatment for hearing loss in a child with developmental delays. This proposal is significant because children with special needs are deserving of evidence upon which to base treatment decision-making, but remain under-represented in the medical literature and are often not studied. This research is designed to meet the criteria for the National Institutes of Health road map because it will generate this type of objective evidence that can directly improve patient care.

This study is an investigation of the effect of a computer-based working memory training program on memory and language processing in at-risk children (e.g., those with working memory weaknesses) who have received cochlear implants.

The purpose of this investigation is to collect feasibility data to assess the safety and efficacy of the Vibrant Soundbridge (VSB), a medical device designed to provide benefit in aided hearing thresholds, speech perception and sound quality to certain individuals with hearing loss with minimal changes in residual hearing. The VSB is currently indicated for adults with moderate-to-severe sensorineural hearing loss. Under the present investigation, adults with conductive and mixed hearing losses who are not successful users of traditional amplification will be assessed.