Actively Recruiting
Listening Effort in Cochlear Implant Users
Led by University of Minnesota · Updated on 2025-08-12
450
Participants Needed
1
Research Sites
17 weeks
Total Duration
On this page
AI-Summary
What this Trial Is About
This research aims to understand the changes in listening effort experienced by people with hearing loss, especially those using cochlear implants. The study focuses on how effort varies moment-to-moment during listening, how long it lasts, and how experience with a cochlear implant affects the planning and execution of listening effort. Listening effort is linked to fatigue, mental strain, and social challenges faced by individuals with hearing difficulties. Participants will take part in speech recognition tests in a sound-attenuated booth, listening to and repeating sentences while their pupil size is monitored by an eye tracker to assess changes related to listening effort. The study includes both cochlear implant users and typical-hearing controls. Various experiments will test different listening scenarios, such as preparing for difficult speech, clarifying misheard words, judging answers, and adjusting speech rates. Behavioral tasks and questionnaires will also measure subjective effort and cognitive processing. Participants will be evaluated through speech intelligibility tests, pupil size tracking, and cognitive tasks assessing attention and processing speed. The study measures listening effort and speech understanding during 60 to 90 minute sessions. Researchers will analyze how participants respond to different speech manipulations and monitor changes in effort using eye tracking and subjective reports. The total participation time varies depending on the number of experiments completed, with detailed observation of effort and comprehension.
CONDITIONS
Brief Title
Listening Effort in Cochlear Implant Users
Who Can Participate
Eligibility Criteria
You may qualify if you...
- Be an adult between the age of 18 to 75 years
- Have had normal hearing and speech/language development as a young child
- For younger normal-hearing listeners: have normal audiometric thresholds below 25 dB HL at frequencies between 250 and 8000 Hz
- For cochlear implant listeners: have at least 6 months experience with a cochlear implant
- For older (55+ years) listeners without cochlear implants: normal audiometric thresholds below 25 dB HL at frequencies between 250 and 2000 Hz and thresholds below 35 dB HL between 4000 and 8000 Hz
- For cochlear implant listeners: be able to recognize spoken words in English at a rate of at least 50%
- Be a competent speaker of North American English
- Lack language-learning or other cognitive disabilities
- Lack auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder
You will not qualify if you...
- Unable to fix gaze position
- Eye disease preventing typical changes in pupil dilation
- Lack of perceptual and productive fluency in English
AI-Screening
AI-Powered Screening
Complete this quick 3-step screening to check your eligibility
Your Study Journey
Duration - 2 to 4 weeks
Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial.
1 visit (in-person)
Duration - 60 to 90 minutes per testing session
Participants complete speech recognition tests involving listening to and repeating sentences while their pupil size is monitored to measure listening effort.
1 to 2 testing sessions (in-person)
Trial Site Locations
Total: 1 location
1
University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, 55455
Actively Recruiting
Research Team
M
Matthew Winn, PhD, AuD
K
Katherine Teece, AuD
How is the study designed?
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Masking
NONE
Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Model
FACTORIAL
Primary Purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Number of Arms
2
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