How sound timbre affects understanding of busy listening environments for older hearing‑aid users.

ÉTude de la pERception soNorE de Personnes maLentendantes équipées d'Aides Auditives

This project tests whether the timbre (tone quality) of individual sounds makes it harder for French-speaking adults aged 60–75 who use hearing aids to follow complex sound scenes.

Quick facts

• Phase: Not applicable
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 75 (estimated)
• Ages: 60 Years to 75 Years
• Sex: All
• Sponsor: Institut Pasteur (Industry-sponsored)
• Locations: 1 site (Paris)
• Trial ID: NCT06691087 on ClinicalTrials.gov

What this trial studies

The ETERNEL project compares how changing the timbre (spectral and temporal qualities) of single sounds alters the ability of hearing‑impaired participants to understand complex auditory scenes. Participants (age 60–75, native French speakers, MOCA >26) include a hearing‑impaired group with symmetric N3/N4 audiograms who use hearing aids and a normal‑hearing control group; testing takes place at CeRIAH in Paris. Investigators will manipulate timbre parameters and measure comprehension using complex sound‑scene tests performed with and without participants' hearing aids to quantify which timbres are most salient and most disruptive. Greater interference by a sound will be interpreted as higher perceptual salience for that timbre, allowing identification of timbre dimensions that most affect scene understanding.

Who should consider this trial

Good fit: Ideal participants are native French speakers aged 60–75 with MOCA >26 who either have symmetric sensorineural hearing loss classified as N3/N4 and use hearing aids, or have near‑normal hearing (<30 dB HL) for the control arm.

Not a fit: People with active middle‑ear disease, a history of ENT conditions that permanently affect hearing or balance, significant cognitive impairment, someone under legal guardianship, or those unable to attend in‑person visits in Paris are unlikely to benefit or be eligible.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If successful, the findings could guide hearing‑aid signal processing or counseling to reduce the most disruptive timbres and improve everyday listening in noisy environments.

How similar studies have performed: Previous laboratory work on auditory scene analysis shows timbre affects perceptual salience, but applying systematic timbre manipulation to hearing‑aid users in realistic scene‑comprehension tests is relatively novel.

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

For all participants:

* Age between 60 and 75
* Native French speaker
* Have given their consent to take part in the study.
* Declare that they have an active social life or hobbies that stimulate their cognitive abilities
* Have a MOCA score above 26
* No tympano-ossicular dysfunction.
* Voice in noise audiometry results showing normal results.

For participants with impaired hearing :

* Pure tone audiometry showing audiograms of type N3 or N4 and symmetrical between the two ears.
* Report having experienced problems with abnormally prominent sound.

For participants with normal hearing:

\- Pure tone audiometry showing audiograms with losses of less than 30 dBHl.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Be under guardianship or curatorship,
* Be deprived of liberty by judicial or administrative decision, or be under legal protection.
* Bear the consequences of an ear infection and/or have a history of an ENT disease that permanently affects hearing or balance (vestibular schwannoma, Ménière's disease, sudden or fluctuating deafness, congenital hypoacusis).

Where this trial is running

Paris

• CeRIAH — Paris, France (Recruiting)

Study contacts

• Principal investigator: Paul Avan — Ceriah
• Study coordinator: Céline Quinsac

Conditions Auditory Perception