Active clinical trials for "Deafness"

Seek the simple tool as questionnaire for screening hearing loss. The FMHT was developed by American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS). It is a standard hearing questionnaire. So, we plan to translate the FMHT into Cambodian language and validate by comparing its result with those of audiometry.

This study aimed to evaluate the sensory processing abilities of adults with acquired hearing loss and to explore the differences in sensory processing between adults with hearing loss and adults with normal hearing. Sensory processing functions of 30 adults with acquired hearing loss will be evaluated using the Adolescent/Adult Sensory Profile. The data from adults with hearing loss will be compared with data from 30 adults with normal hearing who were similar in gender and age.

In this study we are testing computer-based brain fitness exercises. The games are designed to improve people's cognitive abilities brain functions, like memory, concentration, and ability to do two things at once. We are testing whether this cognitive training brain exercises will improve understanding of spoken sentences speech comprehension in people who use cochlear implant and/or hearing aids. We predict that cognitive training will improve speech comprehension in cochlear implant and/or hearing aid users.

The investigators are studying a new way of doing cochlear implant surgery called "Percutaneous Cochlear Implantation". In this surgery, instead of doing a mastoidectomy where about 30ml of bone is removed, the investigators use image-guided technology (similar to GPS systems used to guide automobile travel) to drill directly from the surface of the skull to the cochlea, removing less than 2ml of bone. To use this technique, three markers (or anchor screws) are screwed into the bone around the ear. Next, an x-ray of the head (called a CT scan) is taken. Using this CT scan, a path to the inner ear (cochlea) is planned and a drill guide (Microtable) is made that mounts on the anchor screws. A drill will be attached to the guide and used to drill a path from the surface of the skull to the inner ear (cochlea). The implant electrode will be threaded through this path. All of these procedures take place under general anesthesia.

Congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is the leading cause of non-genetic neurosensory deafness and affects 0.5 to 1% of births. Twenty to thirty per cent of children will develop deafness, some of whom will progress gradually to profound bilateral deafness. No curative treatment is currently offered for this deterioration in hearing and management involves the use of a hearing aid or cochlear implant. Many studies describe the utility of antiviral treatment on the course of the deafness. These mostly involve neonates with multi-system symptomatic forms of the infection who have been given 6 weeks of ganciclovir possibly switched to valganciclovir, which has shown benefit in stabilising auditory loss, or even improvement.

Adult hearing loss in is the third most common chronic health condition in the United States. Adults living in rural areas face a higher risk of experiencing hearing loss, and more difficulty receiving testing and treatment than adults in urban settings. The goal of this clinical trial is to develop and test a community-based hearing healthcare patient navigation program in rural Kentucky. The main question this study aims to answer is: -Can the number of rural adults receiving diagnostic hearing tests be increased?

Age-related hearing loss (ARHL), like neurodegenerative diseases, appears insidiously with age. As major public health issues, they are nonetheless under-diagnosed because the presence of one can hinder the objectification of the other. The CogAudio project aims to detect early and in an ambulatory mode in a memory centre a speech perception disorder in noise thanks to the VRB test in patients weakened by cognitive disorders.

In this study, the investigators are testing whether cognitive training can lead to improvements in speech perception for individuals with hearing loss. Individuals will complete 20 hours of cognitive training that is designed to improve cognitive abilities such as short term memory and attention. The investigators predict that cognitive training that improves the cognitive abilities affected by hearing loss will improve speech perception.

Objective: One objective of this study is to genetically map and identify mutated genes for human hereditary hearing loss. A second objective is to study the function of these genes in the auditory system using mouse models. Human hereditary hearing impairment is the result of abnormal ear development, abnormal ear function or both. Although the genes for numerous deafness loci have been mapped and identified, there are still many families segregating deafness as a monogenic trait but a mutant allele can t be ascribed to one of the currently reported deafness genes . In order to map and identify novel mutated genes associated with hearing loss in humans, we will continue to ascertain large families segregating syndromic and nonsyndromic deafness as a monogenic trait. Study population: This study will ascertain subjects from consanguineous Pakistani families segregating hearing loss consisting of both nonsyndromic and syndromic forms of deafness of genetic etiology. Since a majority of Pakistani marriages are between first cousins, this tends to bring together the same recessive mutations for hearing loss with multiple affected individuals within single family lines, which is an advantage for this genetic study. A few years ago we stopped ascertaining families in India. We continue to ascertain both affected and unaffected Pakistani family members from age 2 years and up. Adults provide informed consent both for themselves and their children who agree to participate in this study. We will ascertain both genders and all Pakistani races and ethnicities. Design: Subjects will be screened and consented by our collaborating Associate Investigator in Pakistan. After consenting, the subjects will undergo a history and physical, audiological assessment and testing, vestibular assessment and testing, and blood and urine analysis tests, along with a blood sample or buccal swab sample that will be used for genomic DNA extraction. Probands at the time of ascertainment are initially assumed to have a form of nonsyndromic deafness. Additional tests may be performed depending on the history or physical of the individual or after the deafness gene is identified. Data from functional studies in animal models may also point to other concomitant clinical features along with hearing loss. These additional tests may include: photographs or videotapes of a subject s body and face; eye and vision examinations for those with suspected or known eyesight problems related to their genetic hearing loss mutations, and EKGs and/or Echocardiograms for those with suspected or known heart problems related to their genetic hearing loss mutations. Urine and blood analyses may be requested for those individuals with genetic nephritic issues or infertility. For example, when a deaf female individual in a family is subsequently discovered to have Perrault syndrome, a recessive disorder characterized by hearing loss (usually the initial manifestation) and ovarian dysgenesis/primary amenorrhea, additional evaluations would then be conducted for a definitive diagnosis of Perrault syndrome. Such an evaluation would include a pelvic ultrasound scan and measurements of serum estrogen and gonadotropins. Similarly, in some of these families, hearing impaired males may be asked about their fertility since the possibility of male infertility in families segregating Perrault syndrome remains an open question. For genetic analyses, genomic DNA extracted from a blood sample or a buccal swab from affected and unaffected members of families segregating hereditary hearing loss will be genetically screened with polymorphic markers (STRs or SNPs) for linkage to the known deafness loci. The hearing phenotype of children (>2 years old), adolescent and adult subjects will be assigned on the basis of performance from audiological examinations. Genomic DNA from families where deafness is found to be unlinked to the known deafness loci will then be used in genome wide screens with approximately 950,000 SNP markers distributed across the entire human genome to identify novel deafness loci. Alternatively, DNA samples from affected and unaffected individuals will undergo whole exome sequencing (WES) or whole genome sequencing (WGS) with a focus on potentially pathogenic variants located only in chromosomal regions of markers genetically linked to deafness. Subsequently, novel deafness genes will be positionally identified and their functions studied. Outcome measures: Novel deafness loci and genes associated with hearing loss will be identified and will provide new insight into mechanisms required for sound transduction in humans. Data from this study is likely to be the basis of commercially available tests for early diagnosis and timely genetic counseling for at risk couples as well as the development of strategies to preserve hearing and prevent hearing loss.

Hearing loss has been associated with decreased emotional wellbeing and reduced quality of life in aging adults. Although hearing aids can target aspects of peripheral hearing loss, persistent perceptual deficits are widely reported. One prevalent example is the loss of the ability to perceive speech in a noisy environment, which severely impacts quality of life and goes relatively unremediated by hearing aids. Musicianship has been shown to improve aspects of auditory processing, but has not been studied as a short-term intervention for improving these abilities in older adults with hearing aids. The current study investigates whether short-term choir participation can improve three aspects of auditory processing: perception of speech in noise, pitch discrimination, and the neural response to brief auditory stimuli (frequency following response; FFR). Sixty hearing aided older adults (aged 50+) recruited from the Greater Toronto Area will be randomly assigned to one of three conditions: a choir singing class (n=20), a music appreciation class (n=20), and a do-nothing control group (n=20). Choir participants will take part in a singing class for 14 weeks, during which they will take part in group singing (2 hours/week) supported by individual online musical training (1 hour/week). Participants will undergo pre- and post-training assessments, conducted during the first week of the choir class and again after the last week. Participants in the music appreciation class will be involved in 14 weeks of music listening classes, and the do-nothing control group will not engaged in an active intervention. All participants will undergo the same battery of assessments, measured before and after the 14-week time frame. Auditory assessments (speech perception in noise and pitch discrimination tests) will be administered electronically, and the FFR will be obtained using electroencephalography (EEG). Each of the four assessment sessions (two pre-training, two post-training) will last approximately 1.5 hours, for a total of 6 hours of data collection. The goal of this research is to investigate whether short-term musical training will result in improved auditory outcomes for older adults with hearing aids. It is predicted that the choir singing group will demonstrate the greatest improvements across all auditory measures, and that both the choir singing and musical appreciation groups will experience greater improvements than the do-nothing control group.