Active clinical trials for "Hearing Loss"

The purpose of this study is to investigate speech understanding in simulated reverberant environments with MED-EL cochlear implant recipients.

The population in rural Alaska, which is predominately Alaska Native, experiences a disproportionately high burden of hearing loss compared to the general US population. The impact of untreated hearing loss in early childhood is tremendous and has grave implications for school achievement. Preschool children with hearing loss experience speech and language delays and are less likely to be ready for kindergarten than their normal-hearing peers. Early identification and treatment can reverse these ill effects. Importantly, the majority of hearing loss in this age group in rural Alaska is infection-mediated, arising from acute and chronic otitis media that is treatable. In response, preschool hearing screening is federally mandated at all Head Start centers across the country. In accordance with this mandate, hearing screening is already performed by the three organizations that offer early childhood education in the Norton Sound region: Kawerak Inc, RurAL CAP, and Bering Strait School District. While the concept of screening in this age group is well established nationally, what is less well understood is the optimal screening protocol for preschool children. There is little evidence evaluating sensitivity and specificity of different screening protocols in this age group. Further, loss to follow up in the referral stage is a problem in preschool hearing screening just as it is in school hearing screening. Alaska has already developed innovative strategies to address hearing loss. A network of village health clinics staffed by community health aides provide local care, and telemedicine has been adopted in over 250 village clinics statewide. Despite being widely available, telemedicine has not yet been used to speed up the referral process for preventive services such as hearing screening. Norton Sound Health Corporation has partnered with Duke and Johns Hopkins Universities to evaluate hearing screening and referral processes in early childhood education in the Norton Sound region of northwest Alaska. Preschool children will receive screening from the preschool and a new mHealth screening protocol. These will be compared against a benchmark audiometric assessment to determine sensitivity and specificity. Communities will then be randomized to continue the current primary care referral process or to adopt telemedicine referral. The primary outcome will be time to ICD-10 ear/hearing diagnosis. Secondary outcomes will include sensitivity and specificity of screening protocols and prevalence of hearing loss. The goal of this study is to evaluate the optimal screening and referral strategy for preschool children in rural Alaska.

The study will assess the impact of a hearing aid self-management intervention in first time hearing aid users compared to standard hearing aid self-management. Namely, the C2Hear multimedia videos, or Reusable Learning Objects (RLOs) will be used as the self-management intervention. A departmental hearing aid booklet (standard clinical care) will be used as the control intervention. The study will determine the role of these RLOs in self-efficacy for hearing aid(s), hearing aid knowledge and readiness for action compared with standard hearing aid self-management education (hearing aid booklet) in groups of first time hearing aid users. Both groups will receive the education at the earliest audiology appointment (hearing assessment), helping to distinguish any impact of earlier education delivery.

Cochlear implants (CI) are used to help patients with severe to profound hearing loss regain auditory perception by electrical stimulation of the auditory nerve. The electrical stimulation consists of trains of charge balanced, biphasic current pulses. For each patient, individual stimulation parameters (perception threshold, most comfortable level - MCL) are determined for each electrode during fitting sessions. However, an important parameter, pulse duration, cannot be individualized for each electrode. There are certain circumstances where it would be advantageous to have the possibility of introducing variable pulse durations into the fitting strategy (e.g., optimization of energy consumption, development of combined cochleo-vestibular implants). However, since in current CI systems pulses are transmitted sequentially, introducing varying pulse widths would also introduce "gaps" (zero-stimulation periods) into the stimulation profile. The influence of such auditory gaps on speech recognition and on the quality of hearing has not been explored yet, but can be investigated in current CI users. The objective of this study is to investigate the impact of time-fixed gaps (zero-stimulation periods) in the cochlear stimulation strategy on speech performance and hearing quality.

A newly developed MED-EL Cochlear Implant incorporates the anti-inflammatory agent dexamethasone (DEX) into the electrode array. The passive elution of DEX during the post-implantation period has the purpose of counteracting the increase of the post-operative impedance induced by the insertion trauma. The aim of this clinical investigation is to obtain a first experience in use of the investigational device in the adult clinical population, and to initially assess tools, techniques and performance outcome measures that may be considered in future clinical studies of similar devices.

Sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) is an otological emergency that is defined as a hearing loss greater than 30 dB over three consecutive frequencies within 72 hours, with abnormalities of the cochlea, auditory nerve, or central auditory system.1 During 2006 and 2007, the annual incidence of SSNHL was 5-27/100,000 persons per year in the United states.2,3 The causative etiologies for SSNHL included viruses, microcirculation abnormalities, and autoimmune disorders. However, definitive evidence remains elusive.4,5 Currently, steroids are the treatment of choice due to their effects on the inner ear such as immunosuppression and circular enhancement.6,7 Combined systemic and intra-tympanic steroid treatment has previously been reported to be beneficial for SSNHL patients, with overall better treatment outcomes.8,9 However, due to the heterogeneous pathological nature and spontaneous recovery potential of the disease, few controlled studies exist in the literature. As a result, the treatment strategies of SSNHL remain a controversial issue in clinicalpractice .10 The condition exhibits a wide age distribution , with an average of 50-60 years and no sex preference. The hearing loss is unilateral in most Population studies of sudden sensorineural hearing loss cases, with bilateral involvement reported in less than 5%. 11 The severity of the hearing loss is divided roughly equally into mild, moderate, and severe profound. The configuration of the hearing loss varies and can affect high, low, or all frequencies. Tinnitus occurs in about 80% of patients, and vertigo, indicating an associated peripheral vestibular dysfunction, in about 30%. 12 The response to medical therapy shows inconsistent results regarding symptoms especially hearing loss may be due to the uncertainty about the cause of the disease and its progress. little is known about the factors which may contribute to either success or failure of the medical therapy. Aim of work To evaluate the factors contributing to the success or failure of standardized medical therapy in cases of ISSNHL To detect the degree of correlation of the presenting symptoms and comorbidities to the patient final hearing prognosis.

The purpose of this study is to see if remote visits for pediatric cochlear implant patients are possible. The investigator will be assessing whether a multi-disciplinary team approach can be achieved remotely for patients both undergoing the cochlear implant (CI) process and for those who have already been implanted.

There has been limited research in the area of speech and language therapy awareness in Pakistan. The study aims to assess the efficacy of providing speech therapy awareness in private schools through a pre-post model. This Quasi experimental study will be a means of reaching out to schools and directly create awareness regarding the field and its scope. Pre-assessment will be carried out and after which a 45 minutes presentation will be conducted face to face or through a webinar as per school directives. The results will be analysed quantitatively and pre-post assessment of the participants will be measured.

This study aims to determine the effectiveness of a self-management program for elderly with an acquired and concurrent hearing and visual impairment due to age-related disease processes.

The objectives of this study are to explore the efficacy and safety of a robotic procedure for a minimally invasive cochlear implantation.