Improving Spatial Perception and Speech Understanding in Multitalker Mixtures

NCT ID: NCT05260307

Last Updated: 2025-09-24

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: RECRUITING
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 220 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2022-03-09
• Study Completion Date: 2026-11-30

Brief Summary

The purpose of this study is to investigate several approaches for improving spatial perception and speech intelligibility in multitalker listening situations for hearing-aid users. The hypotheses are that spatial perception and speech intelligibility will be improved by (1) increased high-frequency audibility, (2) speech envelope enhancement, and/or (3) appropriate sound image externalization.

Detailed Description

The purpose of this study is to investigate several approaches for improving spatial perception and speech intelligibility in multitalker listening situations for hearing-aid users. Aim 1 will investigate how well different amplification strategies provide access to the spectrotemporally sparse speech information that is available in multitalker mixtures. The hypothesis is that subtle differences in high-frequency audibility across different strategies may have much greater effects on the intelligibility of sparse speech than intact speech. This Aim will involve 40 subjects with hearing loss across 2 experiments. Aim 2 is an exploratory aim that will investigate the potential of a speech enhancement algorithm to improve spatial hearing in multitalker mixtures. The hypothesis is that speech enhancement, in addition to its established monaural benefits, will enhance the salience of interaural time differences and thus provide binaural benefits in multitalker mixtures. This Aim will involve 30 subjects with normal hearing and 60 subjects with hearing loss across 3 experiments. Aim 3 will investigate how different hearing-aid styles affect sound externalization. The hypothesis is that hearing aids can disrupt sound externalization, which in turn impacts speech intelligibility in multitalker mixtures. This Aim will involve 30 subjects with normal hearing and 60 subjects with hearing loss across 3 experiments.

This is a prospective design involving adult human subjects. While the investigators will recruit subjects with normal and impaired hearing, all subjects will be assigned to the same set of experimental conditions. Therefore, for the purposes of intervention (or prospective assignment), the subjects can be treated as a single group completing the same intervention (or set of interventions). The behavioral experiments involve listening to speech sounds (either unaided, with hearing aids, or with simulated hearing aids), and providing responses related to spatial perception or speech intelligibility. The order of experimental conditions will be randomized for each subject in order to control for order effects. All of the experimental tasks and outcome measures have been previously established, have good reliability and validity, and will be appropriate for informing future studies.

Conditions

Hearing Loss

Study Design

• Allocation Method: NA
• Intervention Model: SINGLE_GROUP
• Primary Study Purpose: BASIC_SCIENCE
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

Experimental condition

Participants will be presented with sound stimuli under a number of experimental conditions that simulate different hearing-aid conditions.

Group Type: OTHER

hearing aid condition

Intervention Type: OTHER

The intervention will be a hearing aid or a modification to the sound stimulus that simulates a hearing aid configuration, style, or processing strategy.

Interventions

hearing aid condition

The intervention will be a hearing aid or a modification to the sound stimulus that simulates a hearing aid configuration, style, or processing strategy.

Intervention Type: OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• 18 to 35 years of age
• Audiometric thresholds that do not exceed 20 dB HL at any frequency from 250 to 8000 Hz
• Able to provide informed consent and understand experimental instructions
• Normal or corrected-to-normal vision

• 18 to 80 years of age
• Documented sensorineural hearing loss
• Able to provide informed consent and understand experimental instructions
• Normal or corrected-to-normal vision

Exclusion Criteria

• Non-native speakers of English

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 80 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)

NIH

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Boston University Charles River Campus

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

Virginia A Best, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Boston University

Locations

Boston University

Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Site Status: RECRUITING

Countries

United States

Central Contacts

Virginia A Best, PhD

Role: CONTACT

ginbest@bu.edu

(617) 353-2622

Christine Mason

Role: CONTACT

cmason@bu.edu

cmason@bu.edu

Facility Contacts

Virginia Best

Role: primary

ginbest@bu.edu

617-353-2622

Other Identifiers

R01DC015760

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

4218E

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id