Cochlear-Implant-Performance-Prediction

May 27, 2026 updated by: Claus-Peter Richter, MD, PhD, Northwestern University
Despite improved technology, many cochlear implant (CI) recipients still struggle to understand speech in noise (SIN). Because the bottom-up acoustic signal generated by the implant is distorted relative to normal-hearing acoustic input, CI users rely more on top-down processing to decipher masked speech. To better predict outcomes for CI recipients, top-down auditory processing ability should be assessed. However, hearing impairment makes testing top-down auditory processing ability through auditory means difficult. The study aims to determine whether testing visual top-down processing can predict auditory top-down processing capability.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Enrolling by invitation

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

Participants will complete a proctored, 25-minute computer-based test battery of visual cognitive tests (Stroop Test, Trail-Making Tests), visual distorted-signal tests (Scrambled Letters, VisualSNR), and auditory threshold tests (QuickSIN, Hearing Test). To prevent the accumulation of mental fatigue, tests will be administered in a predetermined order designed to minimize it. Including time for explanations for each test and questions from the participant about the testing protocol, the total time the participant will spend on the study is approximately 45 minutes.

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.
60

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

  • United States
    • Illinois
      • Chicago, Illinois, United States, 60611
        • Northwestern Univeristy

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

  • Child
  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • All participants who do not fit the exclusion criteria.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Individuals who are not yet adults (infants, children, teenage children),
  • Adults unable to consent,
  • Adults with known impaired decision-making capacity,
  • Pregnant women,
  • Prisoners (or other detained/paroled individuals),
  • Students or postdoctoral trainees who are taught by or academically mentored by the Principal Investigator, in compliance with the Enrollment of Students and Trainees in Research Studies policies.
  • Non-fluent English speakers, Tests (specifically Scrambled Letters and QuickSIN) require proficiency in the English language.
  • Individuals with severe hearing impairment, Tests (specifically QuickSIN) require participants to not have trouble hearing speech.
  • Individuals with significant, uncorrected visual impairment. All visual tests require the participant to be able to read medium-sized text on a screen approximately two feet in front of them.

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: 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: performance assessment
Diagnostic test: cochlear implant user performance prediction
A battery of visual cognitive tests will be combined to identify a set of tests that can predict user performance in speech-in-noise and music perception.

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
SNR-loss (dB)
Time Frame: baseline
The Quick Sound-in-Noise (QuickSIN) test is a common method for assessing speech-in-noise perception. In this test, participants listen to sentences spoken by a female speaker in increasingly loud four-talker babble. The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) loss for two QuickSIN tests will be averaged and recorded.
baseline
Audiogram
Time Frame: baseline
Behavioral hearing threshold
baseline
Stroop times
Time Frame: baseline
The Stroop Test assesses inhibition-concentration. This test consists of two sets of subtests. Each subtest requires reading 25 words from a table of colored words: the first subtest requires the participant to read the word, and the second requires the participant to name the color of the word. In the first set of subtests, the words will be colored corresponding to the meaning of the color word (i.e. 'Red' will be colored red). In the second set of subtests, the words will be colored in a different color than the meaning of the word (i.e.' Red' will be colored purple). The completion time of each subtest will be recorded.
baseline
Trail times
Time Frame: baseline
The Trail-Making Test (TMT) assesses attention and processing speed. This test consists of subtests A and B. In part A, the participant must connect dots numbered 1-25 in numerical order. In part B, the participant must connect dots numbered 1-13 and dots labeled A-L in alternating order (i.e. 1-A-2-B). If the participant makes a mistake, they must correct the mistake before moving on. The completion time of each subtest will be recorded.
baseline
Percent identified
Time Frame: baseline
The Scrambled Letters and VisualSNR tests were developed to assess the participant's ability to decipher garbled or distorted visual stimuli.
baseline

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.
Northwestern University

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.
June 25, 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.
June 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.
December 31, 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 27, 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 27, 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.
May 4, 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.
May 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.
May 27, 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.
May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

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.
  • STU00223538

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

Yes

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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