Clinical Research Directory

Listening Effort in Cochlear Implant Users

People with hearing loss experience extra effort when listening, which can lead to severe psychological barriers to communication and social participation. Listening effort can lead to fatigue, mental strain, burnout, medical sick leave, and the need for increased time to recover from regular daily activities. This proposal aims to understand effort changes on a moment-to-moment basis during listening, how long the effort lasts, and how the planning and execution of effort is impacted by the experience of using a cochlear implant.

Place-based Cochlear Implant Mapping

The current standard of care approach for programming cochlear implants uses a generalized pitch-map for all patients. This approach fails to account for individualized inner ear anatomy. As a result, many cochlear implant recipients experience place-pitch mismatch. We have recently developed an automated mathematical tool to produce patient-specific, customized cochlear implant pitch-maps (Helpard et al., 2021). In this study, cochlear implant recipients will be randomized to receive either the clinical default pitch-map (the control group) or a place-based pitch-map (the intervention group). Assessments will be conducted at multiple time-intervals to account for patient acclimation and plasticity to both the generalized and individualized pitch-maps. Audiological assessments will be tuned to identify patients' ability to discern pitch scaling and variation in sounds, as well as to understand complexities in speech such as mood and tone. Audiological testing will be conducted in collaboration with the National Centre for Audiology (London, ON) to ensure that the most accurate and relevant metrics are applied.

The BCI 602 BONEBRIDGE Post-Market Clinical Follow-up Study

The Bonebridge system using the BCI 601 is marketed since 2012. Previous prospective, multi-center, non-randomized studies on the BCI 601 Bonebridge performed in adult and paediatric populations have shown a significant improvement in terms of aided sound field (SF) thresholds, word recognition scores (WRS), speech reception thresholds (SRT) and subjective device satisfaction. Safety was established by stable residual hearing and low complication rates. The Bonebridge, implanted in over 600 clinics worldwide, is the world's first active transcutaneous bone conduction implant (BCI) system. This study now focuses on the further developed BCI 602 (marketed since 2019) that has the same indication criteria and performance characteristics. The aim of this post-market clinical follow-up (PMCF) study is to provide clinical data for the long-term performance and safety when implanted with the Bonebridge BCI 602 .

Self-efficacy-based Auditory Rehabilitation With Over-the-Counter Hearing Aids

This goal of this study is to learn if a new audiology treatment process called the self-efficacy-based auditory rehabilitation (SEBAR) can improve confidence and success with over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids. The main questions it aims to answer are: * Can the SEBAR improve participants' confidence related to managing their over-the-counter hearing aids? * Can the SEBAR improve participants' willingness to adopt over-the-counter hearing aids, their satisfaction, quality of life, and their emotional state? Researchers will compare these outcomes of the SEBAR with and without wearing OTC hearing aids. Participants will: * Visit for one appointment to complete a few questionnaires without OTC hearing aids * Wear a pair of ITC hearing aids for a week and use an app to answer questions about their experiences * Visit for a second appointment to complete the same questionnaires with OTC hearing aids.

MED-EL Remote Care Multi-Center Feasibility Study

MED-EL Remote Care is a way for MED-EL cochlear implant users to check their hearing and cochlear implant device from any location, without the need for a scheduled, in-person appointment with their audiologist. This study will assess the effectiveness, efficiencies, and useability of MED-EL Remote Care.

Intracochlear Platelet-rich Fibrin Application in Cochlear Implantation

Fibrosis due to surgical trauma is a common problem with cochlear implants. Fibrosis limits the effectiveness of implant and increases the power consumption. Our aim in this study is to benefit from the anti-inflammatory effects of autologous platelet-rich fibrin to reducing the fibrotic cascade.

Performance and Hearing-related Outcomes in Adults Implanted With the CI622D Dexamethasone-eluting Cochlear Implant Compared to Those Implanted With a Standard Cochlear Implant (CI622)

This clinical study will test a newly developed cochlear implant known as CI622D. This experimental cochlear implant has been designed to slowly release a drug called dexamethasone. Dexamethasone works to ease inflammation, which is common after any surgical procedure. The goal is to learn if there are added benefits in implant performance and hearing outcomes with the dexamethasone-releasing cochlear implant (CI622D) vs. the standard cochlear implant (CI622) without dexamethasone. The study will be conducted in adults with sensorineural hearing loss, a type of hearing loss caused by damage to the inner ear or auditory nerve. The study participants will undergo a series of tests that include testing their implant and their hearing. They will also complete questionnaires to see how they rate their hearing ability and their overall general health.

A Phase I/II Clinical Trial With SENS-501 in Children Suffering From Severe to Profound Hearing Loss Due to Otoferlin (OTOF) Mutations

This study intends to assess safety, tolerability, and efficacy of SENS-501 in children between the ages of 6-31 months with pre-lingual hearing loss due to a mutation in the Otoferlin gene.

Evaluation of an Open-source Speech-processing Platform

Determining acceptability and usability of a wearable open-source speech processing platform (Master Hearing Aid) developed for hearing-aid research

Standard Post Market Clinical Follow-up (PMCF) Study WSA 2026

The purpose of the study is to follow-up on a released low-risk device as part of standard PMCF activities.

Safety and Effectiveness of Cochlear Implantation in an Expanded Adult Population

This study aims to evaluate the safety and efficacy of cochlear implantation for adults with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss who currently do not meet the FDA-approved indications for cochlear implantation. Following cochlear implantation, participants will complete speech perception assessments and questionnaires over the course of seven visits.

A Study to Explore Improved Features and a Simplified Treatment Approach for a Totally Implantable Cochlear Implant (TICI) Research System in Adults With Severe Hearing Loss

This clinical study will test a new investigational totally implanted cochlear implant system (TICI G2). The cochlear implant has an implantable microphone under the skin to detect speech and sound from the environment allowing hearing without the need of any external parts. This study will explore new ways to process the sound from the implanted microphone. The study will be conducted in adults with sensorineural hearing loss, a type of hearing loss caused by damage to the inner ear or auditory nerve. The study participants will undergo a series of tests that include testing their implant and their hearing. They will also complete questionnaires to see how they rate their hearing and overall general health.

Verification of the Efficacy/Safety of the Mixed Drug Injectable Delivery Vehicle for Treating Intractable Hearing Loss

This study is a prospective, randomized pilot study. To verify an efficacy/safety of the mixed drug injectable delivery vehicle for treating intractable hearing loss. Hearing test, endoscopy of tympanic membrane and CT scans will be conducted after intratympanic treatment for evaluation.

Understanding Individual Listening Strategies

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if hearing aid settings that are customized to individual listening strategies result in better speech understanding than non-customized hearing aid settings. The main question it aims to answer is: Do customized hearing aid settings result in better speech understanding? Researchers will compare hearing aid settings that match individual listening strategy to a general setting. Participants will: Wear hearing aids for a 2-hour visit to our laboratory. Listen to some sentences in noise and repeat the sentences they hear, with two different hearing aid settings Listen to some sentences in noise and rate how understandable they think those sentences are, with two different hearing aid settings

Characterizing Variability in Hearing Aid Outcomes in Among Older Adults With Alzheimer's Dementia

This current translational project, funded by NIH, aims to better understand the impact of various signal modification strategies for older adults with Alzheimer's dementia and its potential precursor, known as amnestic mild cognitive impairment. The investigators hypothesize that adults with Alzheimer's dementia represent an extreme case of restricted cognitive ability, such that very low working memory capacity and overall reduced cognitive capacity will limit benefit from advanced signal processing. Thus, the investigators hypothesize that adults with Alzheimer's dementia will receive greater benefit from acoustically simple, high-fidelity hearing aid processing that minimally alters the acoustic signal.

BEARS Training Package to Maximise Hearing Abilities in Older Children and Teenagers With Bilateral Cochlear Implants

The goal of the BEARS clinical trial is to determine whether using the directional listening training delivered via the BEARS training package for 3-months alongside usual care compared to only receiving usual care improves speech-in-noise perception, hearing experiences, vocabulary and quality of life and reduces listening effort in young people between 8-16 years old (inclusive) with two cochlear implants. The participants will complete hearing assessments and questionnaires before completing the 3-month intervention. They will be followed up for the next 9-months through online and in-person appointments.

Comparison of Performance Using MED-EL Automatic Sound Management

This study will evaluate the speech perception ability of adult cochlear implant users in background noise using various MED-EL Automatic Sound Management (ASM) features.

Impact of Anatomy-Based Cochlear Implant Programming on Early Performance

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of different audio processor frequency settings on performance outcomes in new cochlear implant users using electric-only stimulation in the implanted ear with normal hearing to moderately severe hearing loss in the opposite ear.

Preschool Hearing Screening

Children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing (D/HH) are at risk of speech and language delays, which can be mitigated through early identification and intervention. Identifying hearing loss (HL) during preschool is crucial, but the most effective hearing screening method for preschoolers remains uncertain. The purpose of this study is to learn whether, compared to the gold-standard two-stage Pure-tone audiometry (PTA) + otoacoustic emissions (OAE) screening (TS-PO), single-stage OAE (SS-O) screening alone is not inferior at identifying hearing loss when performed in a community-based preschool setting. This study holds the potential to improve early hearing loss detection and intervention among D/HH children, reducing the likelihood of speech and language delays. A diverse group of 13,764 preschool-age children across community-based preschool centers will be recruited. The intervention involves all subjects undergoing both PTA and OAE screening, with the order determined through randomization. Children who show potential hearing issues based on screening results or teacher concerns will receive further testing to determine the final hearing outcome. Group allocation will be post-hoc, based on their screening results. In addition to the primary objective, the study will compare other hearing screening measures and outcomes between the two methods (TS-PO and SS-O). This approach aims to reflect the real-life effectiveness of hearing screening in a diverse population. Ultimately, the study seeks to provide insights into an optimal hearing screening method that could prevent speech and language delays among D/HH children.

Cochlear Implant Recipients: Comprehensive Longitudinal Evaluation

This study aims to assess hearing and speech perception, as well as quality of life, in deaf patients of all ages before and after cochlear implantation, and to explore differences across age groups and treatment subtypes, thereby providing evidence for personalized hearing and speech rehabilitation.

Efficacy and Safety of AC102 Compared to Steroids in Adults With Idiopathic Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss (ISSNHL)

The purpose of this Phase 2 clinical trial is to evaluate the safety, tolerability and efficacy of AC102 administered as single intratympanic injection compared to oral steroid treatment in patients with Idiopathic Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss (ISSNHL).

Hearing and Structure Preservation Via ECochG

The goal of the study is to determine the benefit of using an ECochG-based corrective action guide during cochlear implant surgery compared to the traditional surgical approach without ECochG surveillance and guidance.

Reading Outcomes in Children With Vestibular Loss

Vestibular loss can co-occur with hearing loss causing dual sensory deficits. This project examines vestibular loss as a contributing factor to reading difficulties for children with hearing loss, where previously only the effects of hearing loss and subsequent language difficulties have been considered. These results are expected to influence the identification and habilitation of vestibular loss in children with hearing loss.

Characterisation of Low Frequency Hearing and Vestibular Function in Patients Undergoing Cochlear Implantation

The study will follow a cohort of CI-candidates becoming CI-user, till two years postoperative. A through-out assessment of both their audiological and vestibular status will be carried out at multiple fixed timepoints over 2 years, evaluating both subjective (patients reported) and objective outcomes over time. For the audiological part of the study both pure-tone and speech audiometry results will be held against the patient perceived benefit of the treatment as assessed by the questionnaires NCIQ and SSQ-12. The vestibular part of the study will evaluate the function of the SCCs and the sacculus. This is will be put in concert with functional tests of the vestibular system, and the patient perceived outcome measure DHI. Correlations between vestibular and audiological performances will be examined. A collection of specific hypotheses will be tested by predefined statistical methods.