NCT05693610

Open-source Hearing Aid Platform Comparisons

Comparing Outcomes With the Cloud-based and Portable Versions of an Open-source Hearing Aid.

• Status: Terminated
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 11 (actual)
• Sponsor: Northwestern University · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

New discoveries for hearing loss intervention are often impeded by the proprietary nature of commercial hearing aids and their use in scientific research as "black boxes". An open-source speech platform (OSP) was developed to bridge the gap between audiology research and commercial hearing aid features, to promote innovative solutions to meet the needs of the hearing loss community. The OSP can replicate functions found in commercial hearing aids, and provides tools to researchers to access those functions. The purpose of this study is to evaluate portable and cloud-based platforms of the OSP that will enable a wide range of lab and field applications. All human subjects-related activities will be conducted at Northwestern University (single-site study).

Detailed description

New discoveries for hearing loss intervention are often impeded by the proprietary nature of commercial hearing aids and their use in scientific research as "black boxes". An open-source hearing aid (open-source speech platform or OSP) was developed to bridge the gap between audiology research and the commercialization of hearing aid technologies and to promote innovative solutions to meet the needs of the hearing loss community. The OSP can replicate functions found in commercial hearing aids, and provides tools to researchers and listeners to access those functions. The purpose of this study is to evaluate portable and cloud-based platforms of the OSP that will enable a wide range of lab and field applications by measuring speech perception abilities with the open-source hearing aid in quiet and in noise for adults with and without hearing loss. The study is a within-subjects design that allows for the comparison of outcomes within the same participant. The study will compare performance with two platforms of the open-source hearing aid (portable and cloud-based) for adults with hearing loss and normal hearing. The study will measure performance using tests of word identification. We will test aided performance with clinically validated hearing aid settings in quiet and in noise. Each participant will be presented with all the test conditions, and the order of presentation of the test conditions will be randomized across participants. Statistical analyses will use a repeated measures model to control for correlation between outcomes for the same participant.

Conditions

• Hearing Loss
• Hearing Loss, Sensorineural

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DEVICE	Portable OSP	The portable open-source speech processing platform (OSP) is accessed on a browser via a wireless fidelity (WiFi)-enabled portable communication device that carries out all the signal processing. The processed sounds are transmitted to the ears via earpieces known as behind-the-ear receivers in the canal (same as those available with commercial hearing aids). The amount of amplification with the portable OSP will be customized for each listener based on a validated prescription.
DEVICE	Cloud-based OSP	The cloud-based open-source speech processing platform (OSP) is hosted on a web-server which includes the software for all the signal processing. The processed sounds are transmitted to the ears via calibrated headphones. The amount of amplification with the cloud-based OSP will be customized for each listener based on a validated prescription.

Timeline

• Start date: 2023-01-06
• Primary completion: 2023-04-25
• Completion: 2023-04-25
• First posted: 2023-01-23
• Last updated: 2025-01-10
• Results posted: 2025-01-10

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States