Audiological Rehabilitation of Children With Unilateral Hearing Loss
Key facts
- Where
- Chapell Hill, Iowa City, and Omaha, United StatesSee the 3 sites
Could this be for you?
Answer for yourself. This is not a decision: only the study team can say whether you can take part.
- Are you between 6 and 16 years old?
Source: NCT07911852, who can take part
Where in United States
- University of North Carolina, Chapell HillChapell Hill, United StatesContact: Caitlin Sapp, PhDNot yet recruiting
- University of IowaIowa City, United StatesContact: Wendy FickNot yet recruiting
- Boys Town National Research HospitalOmaha, United StatesContact: Amanda KnihalTaking people
Questions to ask the study team
- How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
- Are travel costs paid?
- Can I keep my own doctor?
- What happens if I want to stop?
Contact the study team: see the registry record → Contacts and Locations
Print a page for my doctorTrial details
- Who runs it
- Father Flanagan's Boys' Home
- Trial code
- NCT07911852
- Record updated
- 5 November 2026
- Original description
The goal of this study is to examine the effects of hearing aids and early intervention on hearing, language, and neural development in children with hearing loss in one ear, known as unilateral hearing loss. The main research questions are:Read full original descriptionShow less
The goal of this study is to examine the effects of hearing aids and early intervention on hearing, language, and neural development in children with hearing loss in one ear, known as unilateral hearing loss. The main research questions are:
1. Do children with unilateral hearing loss with earlier access to hearing aids and early intervention have better speech understanding in noise than children with unilateral hearing loss with later or no access to intervention? 2. Do children with unilateral hearing loss with earlier access to intervention have more typical responses in the brain than children with late or no access to intervention? 3. Do children with unilateral hearing loss with earlier access to intervention have better speech and language skills than children with late or no access to intervention?
Researchers will collect hearing, language, and neural data and information about each child's access to intervention to examine the longitudinal impact of auditory experience on these outcomes.
Participants and their caregivers will:
* Answer questions about the child's health, developmental, and hearing histories. * Receive hearing tests and speech recognition tests. * Complete tests of speech and language abilities. * A subset of eligible participants will undergo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magneotencephalography (MEG).
Inclusion: Children with normal hearing will have hearing thresholds from 0.25 - 8 kHz ≤15 dB HL in both ears; Children with normal hearing will have no history of neurodevelopmental, communication, or sensory disorders; Children with unilateral hearing loss will have hearing thresholds that meet the criterion for CNH in the better ear and three-frequency (.5, 1, \& 2 kHz) pure-tone average ≥ 20 - <70 dB HL or two or more hearing thresholds ≥ 20 - < 70 dB HL from 2-8 kHz in the poorer ear. H; Children with unilateral hearing loss can have conductive, mixed, or sensorineural hearing loss.
Exclusion: Individuals with a cochlear implant, rerouting device, or an implanted bone conduction device will be excluded due to neuroimaging restrictions with implantable devices; Current use of the following medications: psychotropic medications or other medications with significant CNS effects (e.g., antidepressants, antipsychotics, anticonvulsants, alpha-agonists, adrenergic blockers, lithium, and sedating antihistamines), or other excluded medication; Presence of any ferrous metal implant, including orthodonture or pacemaker, which may interfere with the MEG data acquisition and/or be an MRI safety concern; Current major psychiatric diagnosis; Diagnosis of a known neurological disorder or any major medical illness or injury impacting neurological/psychiatric function (e.g., diabetes, epilepsy, cerebral palsy, HIV, traumatic brain injury, significant environmental/toxic injury, neurodegenerative disorder, past meningitis/encephalitis); General medical conditions: any major medical conditions that would interfere with involvement in the study or may affect CNS function as judged by the investigative team; For neuroimaging experiments only:; Current substance abuse or substance dependence.