Investigating Auditory Processing in the Users of Auditory Brainstem and Cochlear Implants

This is a basic investigational research study conducted with hearing impaired adults and children who use cochlear implant or auditory brainstem implant (ABI) devices. The study will evaluate different aspects of hearing and auditory processing in the users of implantable auditory devices.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Deafness
• Intervention / Treatment: Device: Electrode-Neural Interface

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 200
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Mahan Azadpour; Phone Number: 2122637785; Email: Mahan.Azadpour@nyulangone.org

Study Locations

• United States
  • New York
    • New York, New York, United States, 10016
      • Recruiting
      • NYU Langone Health

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child; Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Study Population

The study population will be deaf adults and children who use cochlear implant or auditory brainstem implant (ABI) devices. The subjects will be recruited from NYU patients and the majority of them are anticipated to be local NYC residents.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Hearing impaired adult and or child (above 2 years old) who uses ABIs or cochlear implants.
• No diagnosis of any other communicative or cognitive disorder other than hearing impairment. The individual must be able to visit the lab in order to participate in behavioral and electrophysiological experiments.
• Patients' implant device must have useable electrodes that do not result in uncomfortable or unpleasant non-auditory sensation.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Diagnosed cognitive or communicative disorders (other than hearing impairment)
• Severe neurological disorders
• No useable electrodes in their implants

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Basic Science
• Allocation: Non-Randomized
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Intervention / Treatment

Experimental: Hearing-Impaired Individuals who use Cochlear Implants or Auditory Brainstem Implant (ABI) Devices; Two types of measurements will be obtained: Perceptual: one or more sounds are presented and a behavioral response is collected (e.g., judgements of loudness, pitch or other differences between the sounds, or identifying the word or sentence that was said).; Physiological: noninvasive electrophysiological recordings of nervous system activity.

Device: Electrode-Neural Interface; Measurements taken from the electrode-neural interface will be used to guide elimination of poorly functioning ABI electrodes and improve speech perception outcomes.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Percent of Correctly-Identified Speech Materials	Participants will listen to speech sounds and indicate what sentence or word they heard. The outcome is the percent of speech sounds that are correctly identified.	Day 1 (Visit 1 - Average visit length is about 3 hours)
Percent of Correctly-Identified Stimuli Characteristics when Two or More Stimuli are Presented	Two or more stimuli will be presented to participants, who will indicate which one is louder, which is higher pitched, or which one is different. The outcome is the percent of stimuli characteristics that are correctly identified.	Day 1 (Visit 1 - Average visit length is about 3 hours)

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: NYU Langone Health
• Collaborators: Cochlear Americas
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Mahan Azadpour, NYU Langone Health

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): December 2, 2018
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 20, 2023
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 30, 2023
• First Posted (Actual): April 12, 2023

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): December 30, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 23, 2025
• Last Verified: December 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Neurologic Manifestations; Nervous System Diseases; Otorhinolaryngologic Diseases; Sensation Disorders; Ear Diseases; Hearing Loss; Hearing Disorders; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Signs and Symptoms; Deafness
• Other Study ID Numbers: 18-00323

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Plan Description: The de-identified participant data from the final research dataset used in the published manuscript will be shared upon reasonable request beginning 9 months and ending 36 months following article publication or as required by a condition of awards and agreements supporting the research provided the investigator who proposes to use the data executes a data use agreement with NYU Langone Health. Requests may be directed to: [Mahan.Azadpour@nyulangone.org]. The protocol and statistical analysis plan will be made available on Clinicaltrials.gov only as required by federal regulation or as a condition of awards and agreements supporting the research.
• IPD Sharing Time Frame: Beginning 9 months and ending 36 months following article publication or as required by a condition of awards and agreements supporting the research
• IPD Sharing Access Criteria: The investigator who proposed to use the data will be granted access upon reasonable request. Requests should be directed to Mahan.Azadpour@nyulangone.org. To gain access, data requestors will need to sign a data access agreement.
• IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type: STUDY_PROTOCOL; SAP

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No