How sound timbre affects understanding of busy listening environments for older hearing‑aid users.
Official title: ÉTude de la pERception soNorE de Personnes maLentendantes équipées d'Aides Auditives
Run by Institut Pasteur · NCT06691087 · Data updated 2026-11-12
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
| Study type | Interventional |
|---|---|
| Ages | 60 Years to 75 Years |
| Sex | All |
| Enrollment | 75 (estimated) |
| Sponsor | Institut Pasteur Industry-sponsored |
| Locations | 1 site (Paris) |
| Status | Recruiting |
| Started | April 22, 2025 |
| Main results expected | November 2026 |
| Study ends | November 2028 |
| Registry record updated | March 31, 2026 |
| Trial ID | NCT06691087 on ClinicalTrials.gov |
Is this trial a fit for you?
✓Likely a 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.
✕Probably 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.
A plain-English reading of the study's rules. Only the study team can confirm whether you qualify.
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.
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 gone: 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.
Who can join: the full rules
Show full inclusion / exclusion 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 it's running
-
CeRIAH
Paris, France Recruiting
Study contacts
- Principal investigator: Paul Avan — Ceriah
- Study coordinator: Céline Quinsac
- Email: celine.quinsac@pasteur.fr
- Phone: 0176535029
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How to take part
- Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
- Check the official listing on ClinicalTrials.gov for the latest contact details and recruitment status.
- Contact the study coordinator or principal investigator to ask for pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.