Wideband Tympanometry as a Non-behavioral Test of the Speech-weighted Middle Ear Transfer Function.

April 24, 2026 updated by: Universitaire Ziekenhuizen KU Leuven

BREEDBAND TYMPANOMETRIE ALS EEN NIET-GEDRAGSMATIGE TEST VAN DE SPRAAK-GEWOGEN MIDDENOOR TRANSFER FUNCTIE.

There is a need for a non-behavioral clinical test that provides an assessment of how speech is conducted through the middle ear for the optimization of middle ear implants. These implants utilize the functionality of the human middle ear and require adequate speech conduction through the middle ear chain. Consequently, the clinical test of this degree of speech transfer can contribute to the pre-operative indication for middle ear implants.

Wideband Tympanometry (WT) is a non-invasive diagnostic tool for the clinical assessment of the condition of the middle ear. Unlike classical tympanometry, WT tests the impedance of the middle ear system as a function of both pressure and frequencies. Consequently, a WT measurement contains many times more information about the functionality of the middle ear than classical tympanometry and is ideally suited as a diagnostic tool for the clinical assessment of speech transfer through the middle ear. The WT measurements will be correlated with the Speech Intelligibility Index (SII) collected in normally hearing individuals and patients with isolated conductive hearing loss. This index is a measure of speech transfer through the middle ear. Consequently, a correlation of the WT measurements with the SII addresses the need for a non-behavioral clinical test of speech transfer through the middle ear.

Additionally, WT measurements will be performed longitudinally in cochlear implant candidates, one of the populations that can benefit from the developed clinical test. These longitudinal WT measurements, which will be performed both pre- and post-operatively, allow for the evaluation of the impact of middle ear surgery on the predicted SII.

Study Overview

Status

Status

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

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.

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 (Estimated)

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.
45

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 Locations

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

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • NH subjects
  • Voluntary written informed consent of the participant or their legally authorized representative has been obtained prior to any screening procedures.
  • At least 18 years of age at the time of signing the ICF.
  • Pure tone audiometry:
  • Air-conduction hearing threshold at all frequencies ≤15dB.
  • No air-bone-gap.
  • Normal classical tympanometry: Jerger A (see fig. 1)
  • CHL subjects
  • Voluntary written informed consent of the participant or their legally authorized representative has been obtained prior to any screening procedures.
  • At least 18 years of age at the time of signing the ICF.
  • Pure tone audiometry:
  • Bone-conduction threshold at all frequencies ≤20dB.

  • Two exceptions:

    • Age-related hearing loss: bone-conduction threshold ≤40dB in the higher frequencies (> 2kHz).
  • Carhart notch: bone-conduction threshold >20dB around 2kHz. air-bone-gap ≥10dB at ≥ 1 frequency.
  • CI recipients
  • Voluntary written informed consent of the participant or their legally authorized representative has been obtained prior to any screening procedures.
  • At least 18 years of age at the time of signing the ICF.
  • Ear is planned for CI surgery by treating ENT surgeon.
  • Normal classical tympanometry: Jerger A.

Exclusion Criteria

  • NH subjects
  • Patient has history of extensive middle ear disease.
  • Patient has history of middle ear surgery.
  • Abnormal otoscopy showing signs of tympanic membrane perforation or middle ear effusion.
  • Severe otitis externa or occlusion of the external auditory canal
  • Participation in an interventional Trial with an investigational medicinal product (IMP) or device
  • CHL subjects
  • Patient has history of middle ear surgery.
  • Abnormal otoscopy showing signs of tympanic membrane perforation or middle ear effusion.
  • Signs of structural pathological processes such as tumors, cysts or cholesteatoma.
  • Severe otitis externa or occlusion of the external auditory canal
  • Participation in an interventional Trial with an investigational medicinal product (IMP) or device
  • CI recipients
  • ear has history of extensive middle ear disease.
  • ear has history of middle ear surgery.
  • Abnormal otoscopy showing signs of tympanic membrane perforation or middle ear effusion.
  • Severe otitis externa or occlusion of the external auditory canal

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: Diagnostic
  • Allocation: Non-Randomized
  • 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: conductive hearing loss
patients with isolated conductive hearing loss
Device: Wideband Tympanometry
Wideband Tympanometry evaluates the condition of the middle ear by measuring the middle ear's acoustic response in function of pressure and frequency. To this end, a probe containing a speaker, microphone and pressure pomp is gently inserted into the external ear canal. Tests are performed with a CE approved device.
Experimental: normal hearing
persons with normal hearing
Device: Wideband Tympanometry
Wideband Tympanometry evaluates the condition of the middle ear by measuring the middle ear's acoustic response in function of pressure and frequency. To this end, a probe containing a speaker, microphone and pressure pomp is gently inserted into the external ear canal. Tests are performed with a CE approved device.
Experimental: cochlear implant recipients
patients who undergo cochlear implantation
Device: Wideband Tympanometry
Wideband Tympanometry evaluates the condition of the middle ear by measuring the middle ear's acoustic response in function of pressure and frequency. To this end, a probe containing a speaker, microphone and pressure pomp is gently inserted into the external ear canal. Tests are performed with a CE approved device.

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
Wideband Absorbance as measured with Wideband Tympanometry
Time Frame: 5 minutes
Wideband Absorbance in function of frequency and pressure, as measured with Wideband Tympanometry. The device used is the Titan (interacoustics, Denmark). Frequency resolution is 503 logarithmically spaced frequency bins ranging from 226Hz up to 12000Hz and pressure points resolution depends on the sweep speed but varies between 200 and 210 points, equally spaced between -600daPa en +300daPa.
5 minutes

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.
Universitaire Ziekenhuizen KU Leuven

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.
July 4, 2025

Primary Completion (Estimated)

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.
November 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

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.
November 1, 2027

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).
April 17, 2026

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.
April 24, 2026

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.
April 29, 2026

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 29, 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 24, 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.
November 1, 2025

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.
  • S70272
  • 1S16625N (Other Grant/Funding Number: Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek)
  • 1804826N (Other Grant/Funding Number: Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek)
  • HBC.2023.0899 (Other Grant/Funding Number: VlAIO - Vlaams Agentschap Innoveren en Ondernemen)

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

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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