Efficacy of Auditory Training and Combined Auditory-working-memory Training in Improving Communication in Older Adults

Sponsor
Education University of Hong Kong
Study ID
NCT05399264
Status
Not Yet Recruiting

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Conditions

  • Hearing Loss

Eligibility Criteria

Sex
ALL
Age
55 Years - 80 Years
Healthy Volunteers
Not accepted

Interventions

  • Auditory-working memory training program — BEHAVIORAL
    The AT-WMT program is comprised of 1,200 daily used sentences either created or selected from newspapers, books, TV programs and magazines by the research assistants. The sentences are political-, cultural-, and religious-neutral sentences. Each of them contains 10 words. Noise was recorded from the upper and lower decks of a bus, in a café, a Chinese restaurant, an MTR (the Mass Transit Railway) carriage, and from a street. During the training, the following two adaptive tasks will be administered simultaneously: repeating the sentences masked by noise (i.e., AT component) and recalling the first or the final two words of all sentences in a given sentence set (i.e., WMT component).
  • Auditory training program — BEHAVIORAL
    During the training, an adaptive speech-in-noise perception task will be administered. Specifically, the sentences in a sentence set will be presented binaurally using a headphone at a level the listeners felt is comfortable. The trainees are expected to immediately repeat each noise-masked sentence after hearing it. If they cannot repeat the sentence, then the sound intensity of the noise will be automatically decreased (step size = 2 dB) until the sentence can be correctly repeated. If the sentence can be repeated at the first attempt, then the intensity of the noise will be automatically increased by 2 dB in the next sentence. To provide feedback, the targeted sentence will be replaced by an asterisk and only shown after clicking the sentence.
  • Mindfulness training program — BEHAVIORAL
    Participants in this group will participate in a mindfulness training program using newlife.330 (Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association, 2018) which is a Cantonese online platform for self-guided mindfulness training.

Study Details

Using a randomized controlled trial, we are going to examine whether a training program that incorporates both auditory training and working memory training (AT-WMT) would generate significantly better results in communication and cognition than an auditory training program and a mindfulness training program (active-control). Participants are 120 older adults (40 per group) with untreated mild-to-moderate sensorineural hearing impairment .

Key Dates

First listed
Jun 1, 2022
Start date
Jun 30, 2023
Status verified
May 2022
Primary completion
Jun 30, 2026
Completion
Dec 31, 2026

Study Design

Enrollment
120 participants (estimated)
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT

Arms

  • Experimental: Auditory-working memory training group
    The auditory-working memory training (AT-WMT) program is home-delivered, non-clinician-administered, and computer-based. That is, training will be self-paced and administered by the participants themselves at home using a computer. A software program has been created to facilitate the administration. Participants will spend one hour per day and five days per week for 4 weeks on training. During the training, the following two adaptive tasks will be administered simultaneously: repeating the sentences masked by noise (i.e., AT component) and recalling the first or the final two words of all sentences in a given sentence set (i.e., WMT component).
  • Active Comparator: Adaptive Auditory training group
    The sentences used in the AT program are the same as those in the AT-WMT program. However, only the AT component (i.e., adaptive sentence perception in noise) of the AT-WMT program is required in the AT program. Participants do not need to recall the first or the final two words of the sentences. The same software in the experimental group will be used. Participants will spend one hour per day and five days per week for 4 weeks on training.
  • Placebo Comparator: Mindfulness training group
    Participants in this group will participate in a mindfulness training program using newlife.330 (Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association, 2018) which is a Cantonese online platform for self-guided mindfulness training. The time and computer use of the active-control group will match to those of the above two groups.

Primary Outcome Measure

The Cantonese version of the Hearing in Noise Test (CHINT) (Changes are being assessed) [ Time Frame: One week before the training, one day before the training, one day after the training, three months after the training ]

Central Contacts

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