AutoFocus360 Sound Quality Preference and Claims Study (AF360)

April 15, 2026 updated by: Jonathan Vaisberg
This study aims to generate clinical evidence to substantiate performance claims for the AutoFocus 360 feature in Sonova hearing aid products. AutoFocus 360 is designed to enhance speech intelligibility by detecting the direction of incoming speech and dynamically steering the beamformer toward the talker, regardless of their position relative to the listener. Preliminary internal testing suggested potential benefits in reducing noise disturbance and improving speech clarity compared to traditional directional microphone modes, with outcomes depending on noise type, talker location, and microphone configuration. The present study will systematically evaluate sound quality and listening performance with AutoFocus 360 versus conventional fixed directional settings to support claims of improved speech understanding in noise.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Claims evidence is required for the AutoFocus 360 feature on upcoming product platforms.

AutoFocus 360 is a feature that enhances speech intelligibility by detecting the direction from where speech is coming from relative to the hearing aid wearer and steering the beamforming towards the direction of the speech. Informal exploratory testing by normal hearing Sonova employees have identified that AutoFocus 360 reduces noise disturbance and improves speech clarity, over other microphones modes with some dependencies on (1) noise type, (2) talker location and (3) specific mode comparisons.

AutoFocus 360 is intended to improve listening by directing the hearing aid beamformer towards the speaker wherever they are relative to the listener (i.e. front, side or rear) compared to other in-noise beamforming, mainly fixed wide directional. Sonova currently does not have any data to support this. Therefore, this study will aim to produce sound quality data showing a benefit for Autofocus 360 over traditional beamforming for the purpose of claim substantiation.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
30

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

  • Canada
    • Ontario
      • Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, N2E 1Y6
        • Sonova Canada Inc.

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Adults (18-99 years)
  • Binaural, symmetric, sensorineural N2 (mild) to N5 (moderate-severe) hearing loss
  • Fluent in English

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Minors (< 18 years
  • Normal hearing or hearing loss > N6 (severe)

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Participant group
Participants will listen to scenes of a talker speaking in two types of noise from either the front, left, rear, and right using AutoFocus360 and fixed directional microphones. Condition order is randomized between participants and masked from participants and experimenters.
Device: AutoFocus 360
AutoFocus 360 is a feature that enhances speech intelligibility by detecting the direction from where speech is coming from relative to the hearing aid wearer and steering the beamforming towards the direction of the speech.
Device: Fixed directional microphone
Fixed directional microphones delivers static beamforming towards the front of the hearing aid wearer.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Noise disturbance sound quality attribute
Time Frame: During a single 2-hour onsite study session
Participants will complete an A-B paired-comparison listening task to assess subjective preference for noise disturbance between two hearing aid conditions. During testing, participants will listen to short audio recordings that vary in talker location and noise type. For each trial, participants will indicate which of the two recordings (A or B) has less bothersome background noise. The outcome measure will be the proportion of "A preferred" versus "B preferred" responses aggregated across all trials and participants. Binary preference data will be analyzed using inferential statistics.
During a single 2-hour onsite study session

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Speech clarity sound quality attribute
Time Frame: During a single 2-hour onsite study session
Participants will complete an A-B paired-comparison listening task to assess subjective preference for speech clarity between two hearing aid conditions. During testing, participants will listen to short audio recordings that vary in talker location and noise type. For each trial, participants will indicate which of the two recordings (A or B) has clearer speech. The outcome measure will be the proportion of "A preferred" versus "B preferred" responses aggregated across all trials and participants. Binary preference data will be analyzed using inferential statistics.
During a single 2-hour onsite study session

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Jonathan Vaisberg

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Jinyu Qian, PhD, Sonova AG

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
November 27, 2025

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
March 19, 2026

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
March 19, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
November 3, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
November 4, 2025

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
November 5, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
April 20, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
April 15, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • SRF-34243

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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