Auditory Diagnostics and Error-based Treatment

Radboud University Medical Center25 enrolled

Overview

The main objective of this study is to assess the effectiveness of an integrated program of fitting and training interventions aimed at reducing unexpected variability and addressing the specific error patterns of each recipient. The participants will undergo 1 visit lasting approximately 2 hours at the Radboud university medical center's ENT department, where they will undergo a series of diagnostic tests. Some of the participants will also be asked to self-administer additional tests using a Windows tablet. Based on the outcomes of speech recognition tests in quiet at the first visit, the participants will be called for follow-up interventions concerning both the fitting of their CI and personalized auditory training based on their personal error patterns. These interventions will take place over the course of approximately 5 months and will be made up of three follow-up visits and a period of self-administered training through a mobile application on a tablet. One final follow-up visit will check whether any changes from the interventions are retained after four weeks.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Enrollment

Conditions

Deafness, Bilateral Deafness Neurosensory Deafness Permanent

Interventions

Tone AudiometryDIAGNOSTIC_TEST

Evaluation of the participants' audiometrical thresholds

Spectrotemporal AssessmentDIAGNOSTIC_TEST

Evaluation of the participants' promptness in detecting a modulation of a harmonic complex

Phoneme and Speech PerceptionDIAGNOSTIC_TEST

Evaluation of the participants' understanding of phonemes and short words, both in quiet and in noise

Digit Triplet TestDIAGNOSTIC_TEST

Evaluation of the participants' ability to discern speech in noise

Personalized fittingOTHER

Adjustment of the parameters of the participants' cochlear implants aimed at improving their speech perception

Personalized trainingBEHAVIORAL

Self-administered training exercises focused on the speech components the participants are experiencing difficulties into

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 18 Years

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * Adult (over 18 years old at the time of inclusion ) * Post-lingually deafened (the subject had a good mastery of spoken language before onset of deafness) * Native Dutch speaker * Implanted, either unilaterally or bilaterally, with a Cochlear Implant manufactured by Cochlear Ltd (i.e., a Nucleus ® implant). * Implanted with one of the following implants: CI422, CI512, CI522, CI532, CI24M, CI24R, CI24RE. * Implanted for at least 12 months. Exclusion Criteria: * Known abnormally formed cochlea * Known pre-implantation ossification of the cochlea * Severe cognitive disorders affecting their ability to understand spoken language * Intense facial nerve stimulation * Unaddressed electrode tip foldover * More than 4 electrodes deactivated because of malfunction (open/short circuit) or lack of response * Additional illnesses or handicaps that could impact ability to participate in study, at the clinician's discretion.

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Change in Percent Speech Recognition

Given a list of CNC words, this score measures the percentage of correctly identified words.

Time frame: Weeks 1, 10, 14, 18

Secondary Outcomes

Change in Distance-based Accuracy Score

Speech Recognition accuracy score based on phoneme distance, such that mistaking a phoneme for a similar one such as mistaking /k/ for /g/ gives a lower penalty than mistaking a phoneme for a very different one.

Time frame: Weeks 1, 10, 14, 18

Change in Error Dispersion

Mathematical quantification of how much the errors made by the subjects are spread between stimuli and responses

Time frame: Weeks 1, 10, 14, 18

Auditory Diagnostics and Error-based Treatment

Overview

Conditions

Interventions

Eligibility

Locations (1)

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes

Central Contacts