What this study is
The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if non-invasive brain stimulation (called transcranial stimulation) can enhance the benefits from auditory training in people who struggle to understand one talker when many people are talking at the same time. The main questions it aims to answer are:
- Does transcranial stimulation improve speech-on-speech understanding in people who struggle with this task?
- Does transcranial stimulation enhance the benefits of a commercially available auditory training program?
Researchers will compare transcranial stimulation to sham stimulation (no stimulation is applied during the listening task).
Participants will:
- Receive login information to an online auditory training program to complete at home over 2 weeks
- Visit the laboratory 4 times to receive transcranial stimulation while listening to speech-on-speech: once before at-home training, two times during the at-home training period, and once after at-home training has ended
What's being tested
- Transcranial current stimulation
Intervention · DEVICE
The transcranial alternating current stimulation is delivered during the speech stimulus and the current matches the envelope of the target speech
- Auditory training
Intervention · BEHAVIORAL
An at-home auditory training program that adaptively and interactively trains the listener in degraded speech, cognitive skills, and communication strategies
Study details
- Sponsor
- Boston University Charles River Campus
- Conditions
- Difficulties Understanding Speech in Noise
- Enrolling
- 94 people
- Starts
- 2025-11-07
- Est. completion
- 2027-07
- Design
- Double-blind, randomized, parallel groups
- Record
- View on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
Who can join
Age 50 Years and overSex ALLHealthy volunteers Not acceptedYou may qualify if
- 50 years of age or older
- Audiometric thresholds that do not exceed 90 dB HL at any frequency from 250-6000 Hz
- Able to provide informed consent and understand experimental instructions
- Able to read print on a computer screen
- Difficulty with speech-on-speech understanding
- Access to computer or mobile phone with access to internet that can play sound (for the at-home training)
You can't join if
- Non-native speakers of English
- History of skull fracture, scalp tissue damage, metallic implants around the head, seizures, neurological disorders, or traumatic brain injury, current or suspected pregnancy
Sign in and we'll check these against your records.Full criteria on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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Study locations (1)
1 openCommunication Neuroscience Research Lab at Boston University
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
- Tyler Perrachione, PhD · Contact617-358-7410tkp@bu.edu
- Monique Montoute · Contactmmontout@bu.edu
- Elin Roverud, AuD, PhD · Principal investigator
- Tyler Perrachione, PhD · Sub-investigator
Recruiting
Study team
Sponsor
Boston University Charles River Campus
Study ID 7799E
Principal investigator
Elin Roverud, AuD, PhD
Boston University Charles River Campus
Frequently asked questions
The sponsor hasn't published answers to common questions for this trial.