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BEARS listening training for older children and teens with bilateral cochlear implants

Tests BEARS listening training in young people with bilateral cochlear implants.

Key facts

Who runs it
Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust
Where
Birmingham, Bradford, Cambridge, Kilmarnock, London, Manchester, Middlesbrough, Nottingham, Oxford, and Southampton, United KingdomSee the 13 sites
Trial code
Registry title
BEARS Training Package to Maximise Hearing Abilities in Older Children and Teenagers With Bilateral Cochlear Implants
Status
Recruiting
People taking part
272 people, planned
Started
27 Jul 2023
Planned end
31 Oct 2026
Type of study
Interventional, 2 groupsOne group gets an existing treatment, for comparison.
Treatments tested
  • Both EARS training package (BEARS)
  • Usual Care
Record updated
1 April 2026

Who can take part

AI summary

From the trial's eligibility criteria. Machine-read from the registry text on this page, so it can be wrong. The registry text below and the trial team decide who can take part.

The trial is looking for young people aged 8-16 who use two cochlear implants (hearing implants in both ears). It tests a 3-month listening training with games, alongside usual care.

Age
8 to 16 years, inclusive.
Sex
All sexes can join.
Disease stage
Severe or profound hearing loss in both ears (sensorineural). Either present from birth with at least one implant at 36 months of age or younger, or hearing loss that got worse over time or came later (no limit on age at implant).
Earlier treatment
Must use both cochlear implant processors for at least 6 hours per day over a month. Implant programmes must be stable. After re-implantation, at least two usual care checks with stable hearing levels (+/- 10 dB across 500Hz-4kHz) are needed.

Main reasons for not taking part

  • The child or parent does not speak or understand English well enough for the tests.
  • Intellectual disability or another condition that stops taking part in the training or tests.
  • Waiting for a new implant after device failure or infection, or one implant cannot be used.
  • Epilepsy or any history of seizures.
  • Pregnancy, living full-time at a boarding school, or other treatment or trials that may affect hearing.

The registry criteria, word for word

Show all 17 criteriaShow less

Who can take part

  • Participant is a simultaneous or sequential bilateral cochlear implant user*, who either has:; Congenital severe/profound bilateral sensorineural hearing loss and have received at least one implant ≤ 36 months of age; Progressive or acquired severe/profound bilateral sensorineural hearing loss (no age at implant restrictions for these patients) *(a bilateral CI user is defined as a patient who uses both cochlear implant processors for a minimum of 6-hours per day over a month)
  • Participant has stable programmes (defined as no longer using progressive programmes to work through)
  • Participant has had at least two usual care checks/clinical appointments with stable aided levels (+/- 10 dB across 500Hz-4kHz) and no progressive maps to still work through, if they have had re-implantation of internal implant devices
  • Participant is aged 8-16 years, inclusive

Who cannot take part

  • Participant is currently or anticipated to receive treatment and/or intervention that may affect hearing outcomes or adapt implant settings/programming
  • Participant is a non-user of one or both implant processors (i.e., must use both processors for a minimum of 6 hours per day over a month)
  • Participant has unresolvable issues found in device checks that render one of the implants unusable
  • Participant has a comorbid condition impacting ability to participate in the intervention and/or outcome assessment
  • Participant is awaiting reimplantation following device failure or infection
  • Participant has a diagnosis of epilepsy or history of seizures of any kind
  • Participant (or parent/legal representative) does not speak/understand English sufficiently to undertake assessments
  • Participant has an intellectual disability at a level that would prevent their ability to understand the trial the intervention or assessment questions
  • Participant has an audiological profile impacting ability to participate in the intervention and/or outcome assessments
  • Participant is actively participating in other trials that may affect hearing outcomes or impact their ability to participate in the intervention
  • Participant is refusing to consent to trial activities/protocol
  • Participant is a fulltime boarder at a boarding school
  • Participant is a female that is pregnant

Check if you might fit

Answer for yourself. This is not a decision: only the study team can say whether you can take part.

  • Are you between 8 and 16 years old?

Where in United Kingdom

  • The Midlands Hearing Implant Programme (Children's Service)Birmingham, United KingdomContact: Debi Vickers, PhDNo longer taking part
  • Yorkshire Auditory Implant ServiceBradford, United KingdomContact: Debi Vickers, PhDTaking people
  • Emmeline Centre for Hearing ImplantsCambridge, United KingdomContact: Debi Vickers, PhDTaking people
  • Scottish Cochlear Implant ProgrammeKilmarnock, United KingdomContact: Debi Vickers, PhDTaking people
  • Auditory Implants: Royal National ENT and Eastman Dental HospitalsLondon, United KingdomContact: Debi Vickers, PhDTaking people
  • Great Ormond Street Cochlear Implant ProgrammeLondon, United KingdomContact: Debi Vickers, PhDTaking people
  • St George's Auditory Implant ServiceLondon, United KingdomContact: Debi Vickers, PhDTaking people
  • St Thomas' Hospital Hearing Implant CentreLondon, United KingdomContact: Debi Vickers, PhDTaking people
  • The Richard Ramsden Centre for Hearing ImplantsManchester, United KingdomContact: Debi Vickers, PhDTaking people
  • North East Regional Cochlear Implant ProgrammeMiddlesbrough, United KingdomContact: Debi Vickers, PhDTaking people
  • Nottingham Auditory Implant ProgrammeNottingham, United KingdomContact: Debi Vickers, PhDTaking people
  • Oxford Auditory Implant CentreOxford, United KingdomContact: Debi Vickers, PhDTaking people
  • University of Southampton Auditory Implant ServiceSouthampton, United KingdomContact: Debi Vickers, PhDTaking people

About the trial

What the trial wants to find out

The goal of the BEARS clinical trial is to determine whether using the directional listening training delivered via the BEARS training package for 3-months alongside usual care compared to only receiving usual care improves speech-in-noise perception, hearing experiences, vocabulary and quality of life and reduces listening effort in young people between 8-16 years old (inclusive) with two cochlear implants.

Read full original descriptionShow less

The participants will complete hearing assessments and questionnaires before completing the 3-month intervention. They will be followed up for the next 9-months through online and in-person appointments.

The 2 groups in the trial

  • Both EARS training package (BEARS) and Usual CareTreatment being tested

    BEARS is a compilation of virtual reality games designed specifically for young people with bilateral cochlear implants. The hardware is either: A Head Mounted Display Device or an iPad with headphones.

    Treatment: Both EARS training package (BEARS) and Usual Care

  • Usual CareExisting treatment, for comparison

    Usual care describes the routine rehabilitation received by participants via their implant centre.

Questions to ask the study team

  1. How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
  2. Are travel costs paid?
  3. Can I keep my own doctor?
  4. What happens if I want to stop?

Contact the study team: see the registry record → Contacts and Locations

Print a page for my doctor

Data and sources

Registry record
Listed on ClinicalTrials.gov.
Official title
A Randomised Controlled Trial to Evaluate the Effectiveness of Spatial-listening Training Delivered Via the Both EARS Training Package (BEARS) in Older Children and Teenagers With Bilateral Cochlear Implants
Plain-language title
BEARS listening training for older children and teens with bilateral cochlear implantsGenerated from the registry record. The registry title is the official one.
AI summary
From the trial's eligibility criteria. Read by machine on 14 November 2026.
Fit questions
Built from NCT05808543, who can take part
Record updated
1 April 2026