ListenFuture-Listening for Their Future: Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Adolescents (ListenFuture)

ListenFuture-Listening for Their Future: The Complex Associations Between Hearing, Cognition, Spoken Language, Literacy and Psychosocial Wellbeing in Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Adolescents

ListenFuture, a nation-wide multidisciplinary project, brings new knowledge on complex associations between listening, cognition, language, literacy, and psychosocial wellbeing in deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) adolescents. Earlier findings indicate that DHH adolescents remain at a risk to achieving age-appropriate skills. The associations among these skills can also be language-dependent. The investigators use behavioral methods and questionnaires. The investigators study speech perception in noise, listening, and listening-related fatigue to reveal how DHH adolescents cope in today's noisy environment. The investigators study cognitive skills and executive functions, spoken language and literacy skills to find out the current state-of-knowledge. The investigators study psychosocial wellbeing, school burnout and factors associated with them. The investigators will utilize supervised and interpretable machine learning to analyse the performance domains that could best predict the outcomes of DHH adolescents. The investigators expect our project to have broad societal impact for DHH adolescents, healthcare, school, and other stakeholders.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Hearing Disorders and Deafness

Detailed Description

ListenFuture provides comprehensive insights into challenges deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) adolescents face in speech perception, language, and literacy, skills essential for use, creation, and integration of information. The investigators will explore the following skills and their complex associations: 1) auditory speech perception, 2) cognitive skills and executive functions, 3) spoken language, 4) literacy, and 5) psychosocial wellbeing and school burnout. The investigators will analyse the demographic, cognitive, speech perception and language processing domains that best predict the outcomes. ListenFuture has the potential to enhance the wellbeing and participation of DHH adolescents and provide valuable information for intervention services and policy making.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Estimated): 256

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Heikki J Löppönen, MD Professor; Phone Number: +358405656183; Email: heikki.lopponen@uef.fi
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Taina T Välimaa, PhD Professor; Phone Number: +358405399432; Email: taina.valimaa@abo.fi

Study Locations

• Finland
  • Helsinki, Finland, 00029
    • Recruiting
    • Helsinki University Hospital
    • Contact: Antti A Aarnisalo, MD PhD; Phone Number: +35850563458; Email: antti.aarnisalo@hus.fi
  • Kuopio, Finland, 70029
    • Recruiting
    • Kuopio University Hospital / University of Eastern Finland
    • Contact: Aarno J Dietz, MD Professor; Phone Number: +3580447172849; Email: aarno.dietz@pshyvinvointialue.fi
  • Oulu, Finland, 90220
    • Recruiting
    • Oulu University Hospital
    • Contact: Jaakko Laitakari, MD PhD; Phone Number: +35883153027; Email: jaakko.laitakari@pohde.fi
  • Oulu, Finland, 90014
    • Recruiting
    • University of Oulu
    • Contact: Sari M Kunnari, PhD Professor; Phone Number: +358294483392; Email: sari.kunnari@oulu.fi
  • Tampere, Finland, 33101
    • Recruiting
    • Tampere University Hospital
    • Contact: Jarno Kujansivu, MD; Phone Number: +358331164891; Email: jarno.kujansivu@pirha.fi
  • Turku, Finland, 20521
    • Recruiting
    • Turku University Hospital
    • Contact: Tytti Willberg, MD PhD; Phone Number: +35823135979; Email: tytti.willberg@varha.fi
  • Turku, Finland, 20700
    • Recruiting
    • Åbo Academy University
    • Contact: Taina T Välimaa, PhD Professor; Phone Number: +358405399432; Email: taina.valimaa@abo.fi

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Children with hearing loss are voluntary participants who are in care at the university hospitals in Finland.

Children with typical hearing are voluntary participants from the cities of Finland.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Group 1

   - Bilateral mild to complete hearing loss

2. Group 2:

   • Typical hearing (PTA<20dB)
   • Typical cognitive, linguistic and literacy development

Exclusion Criteria:

Group 1 and Group 2:

• heart conditions
• developmental brain disorders
• chromosome anomalies
• severe inner ear anomalies
• impairments in both distance senses hearing and vision

Group 2:

- concerns regarding attention and psychosocial wellbeing

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

2

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
children with hearing loss; children with mild-complete hearing loss
children with typical hearing; normal hearing

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals (CELF5)	General language skills. Measurement of language performance against age-matched peers	Day 1

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Assessment of reading, writing and arithmetic skills (LUKILASSE)	Assessment of school skills in relation to the goals required by the grade level (in Finnish language)	Day 1

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Heikki Löppönen
• Collaborators: Turku University Hospital; Helsinki University Central Hospital; Oulu University Hospital; Kuopio University Hospital; Vanderbilt University Medical Center; Tampere University Hospital; University of Oulu; University of Melbourne; Åbo Akademi University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): March 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 31, 2029
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 31, 2031

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 10, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 10, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): February 18, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): February 25, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 24, 2026
• Last Verified: February 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: fatigue; cognition; language; burnout; literacy; noise; listening
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Neurologic Manifestations; Nervous System Diseases; Behavioral Symptoms; Otorhinolaryngologic Diseases; Sensation Disorders; Ear Diseases; Stress, Psychological; Hearing Loss; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Behavior; Signs and Symptoms; Communication; Burnout, Psychological; Fatigue; Deafness; Hearing Disorders; Language; Literacy
• Other Study ID Numbers: 5551909

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Plan Description: anonymized and published outcome data can be shared with other researchers when the research completed

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