Effects of Cognitive Training on Speech Perception

Sponsor

Aaron Newman (Other)

Overall Status

Terminated

CT.gov ID

NCT02294812

Collaborator

(none)

Enrollment

Location

Arms

Duration (Months)

0.9

Patients Per Site Per Month

Study Details

Study Description

Brief Summary

In this study, the investigators are testing whether cognitive training can lead to improvements in speech perception for individuals with hearing loss. Individuals will complete 20 hours of cognitive training that is designed to improve cognitive abilities such as short term memory and attention. The investigators predict that cognitive training that improves the cognitive abilities affected by hearing loss will improve speech perception.

Condition or Disease	Intervention/Treatment	Phase
Hearing Loss Deafness and Auditory Perception	Behavioral: Cognitive training	N/A

Study Design

Study Type:

Interventional

Actual Enrollment :

42 participants

Allocation:

Randomized

Intervention Model:

Parallel Assignment

Masking:

Single (Participant)

Primary Purpose:

Treatment

Official Title:

Effects of Cognitive Training on Age-Related Hearing Loss and Speech Perception

Study Start Date :

Sep 1, 2016

Actual Primary Completion Date :

Sep 1, 2020

Actual Study Completion Date :

Sep 1, 2020

Arms and Interventions

Arm	Intervention/Treatment
Active Comparator: Control, cognitive training Participants in the control arm will receive cognitive training for cognitive abilities not affected by age-related hearing loss.	Behavioral: Cognitive training Participants will engage in eight weeks of training that focuses on improving various cognitive abilities. For example, short term memory. Cognitive training will take place 30 minutes per day, five days per week, for eight weeks. Training will be done in the participant's own home using web-based software. Participants will be randomly assigned to either the active control group, the control cognitive training group, or the experimental cognitive training group following the second study visit. After eight weeks, participants will no longer partake in training.
Experimental: Experimental, cognitive training Participants in the experimental arm will receive cognitive training for cognitive abilities affected by age-related hearing loss.	Behavioral: Cognitive training Participants will engage in eight weeks of training that focuses on improving various cognitive abilities. For example, short term memory. Cognitive training will take place 30 minutes per day, five days per week, for eight weeks. Training will be done in the participant's own home using web-based software. Participants will be randomly assigned to either the active control group, the control cognitive training group, or the experimental cognitive training group following the second study visit. After eight weeks, participants will no longer partake in training.
Active Comparator: Active Control, crossword training Participants in this group will undergo crossword puzzle training. The purpose of this group is control for any effects that may be due to engaging in cognitive training.	Behavioral: Cognitive training Participants will engage in eight weeks of training that focuses on improving various cognitive abilities. For example, short term memory. Cognitive training will take place 30 minutes per day, five days per week, for eight weeks. Training will be done in the participant's own home using web-based software. Participants will be randomly assigned to either the active control group, the control cognitive training group, or the experimental cognitive training group following the second study visit. After eight weeks, participants will no longer partake in training.

Arm

Intervention/Treatment

Active Comparator: Control, cognitive training

Participants in the control arm will receive cognitive training for cognitive abilities not affected by age-related hearing loss.

Behavioral: Cognitive training

Participants will engage in eight weeks of training that focuses on improving various cognitive abilities. For example, short term memory. Cognitive training will take place 30 minutes per day, five days per week, for eight weeks. Training will be done in the participant's own home using web-based software. Participants will be randomly assigned to either the active control group, the control cognitive training group, or the experimental cognitive training group following the second study visit. After eight weeks, participants will no longer partake in training.

Experimental: Experimental, cognitive training

Participants in the experimental arm will receive cognitive training for cognitive abilities affected by age-related hearing loss.

Behavioral: Cognitive training

Active Comparator: Active Control, crossword training

Participants in this group will undergo crossword puzzle training. The purpose of this group is control for any effects that may be due to engaging in cognitive training.

Behavioral: Cognitive training

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

Speech Perception in Noise Test - Improvement in speech perception accuracy from baseline to post-training for high and low predictability sentences [Baseline, Weeks 2, 10, and 18]
Sentences of high predictability and low predictability are played with multi-user talker babble. Participants must repeat the last word of each sentence as they heard it. The primary outcome measure will be the accuracy for repeating the sentence.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Working Memory Cognitive Training - Improvements in working memory abilities from baseline [Weeks 2, 10, and 18]
Individuals are asked to participate in 20 hours of cognitive training that will focus on either improving abilities affected by hearing loss (i.e., verbal working memory), or abilities not affected by hearing loss (i.e., spatial working memory). Performance on the working memory task, Operation Span Task (OSPAN), will be assessed using the total score which is calculated as a sum based on the number of correct answers (letters accurately sequentially recalled) within a block for the duration of the task. Higher scores indicate better working memory capacity. Performance on the working memory cognitive training games will be assessed using the participant's accuracy, reaction time, and final score on the game. Improvements in working memory will be assessed by comparing participant performance on working memory tasks (OSPAN; cognitive training memory games) before receiving cognitive training, immediately after receiving cognitive training, and eight weeks post-training.
Brain Performance Test [Weeks 2 and 10]
The Brain Performance Test (BPT) is an assessment tool available online through the training program website. Participants will be assessed at home on their initial performance for a variety of cognitive abilities including stop-signal tasks, grammatical reasoning, and memory spans. After completing the eight weeks of cognitive training, participants will again be assessed at home with the BPT to determine whether there are any improvements in cognitive abilities.
Attention Cognitive Training - Improvements in attention abilities from baseline [Weeks 2, 10, and 18]
Individuals are asked to participate in 20 hours of cognitive training. Cognitive training will focus on either improving abilities affected by hearing loss (i.e., attention), or abilities not affected by hearing loss (i.e., spatial working memory). Performance on the attention task, Flanker-Simon, will be assessed based on participant's accuracy and reaction time for the Flanker task, and the Simon task. Performance on the attention cognitive training games will be assessed using the participant's accuracy, reaction time, and final score on the game. Improvements in attention will be assessed by comparing the performance of participants on attention tasks (Flanker-Simon; cognitive training attention games) before receiving cognitive training, immediately after receiving cognitive training, and eight weeks post-training.

Eligibility Criteria

Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study:

50 Years and Older

Sexes Eligible for Study:

All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers:

Inclusion Criteria:

Able to come to Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada for study visits
Adults (50 years or older) with mild to moderate hearing loss
Access to an internet-connected device that is able to use Flash media, basic computer skills
Medically stable participants
Not currently taking medication that may affect brain function (e.g., anti-anxiety medication)
Normal or corrected-to-normal vision

Exclusion Criteria:

Participants with neurological conditions such as epilepsy or concussions will be excluded for safety reasons
Participants who are not native English speakers (materials used in the study are only in English)
Participants who are unable to provide consent
Participants with impaired cognition (assessed with the Montreal Cognitive Assessment)
Participants with high accuracy on the Speech Perception in Noise task at the second study visit (to eliminate participants who may be performing at ceiling level)