Study:  Cochlear Implantation in Adults with Asymmetric Hearing Loss Clinical Trial

Sponsor:  Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO

PI:  Jill B. Firszt, PhD

Collaborators:  House Clinic, Los Angeles, CA; Saint Luke’s Midwest Ear Institute, Kansas City, MO; New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY

Many hearing-impaired patients have noticeable hearing asymmetry, i.e. poor hearing in one ear and better hearing in the other. When the loss in the poor ear is moderate-to profound, lack of treatment in that ear is common given the limitations of amplification. This results in monaural hearing, which is detrimental for communication including speech understanding in noise and sound localization. 

A multicenter longitudinal study is being conducted to evaluate the effects of asymmetric hearing loss in adults and the possibility of restoring hearing abilities through cochlear implantation.  The audiologic inclusion criteria are a poor ear (the ear to be implanted) with a 3-frequency PTA (.5, 1 and 2 k Hz) > 70 dB HL and a better ear with a 4-frequency PTA (.5, 1, 2, and 4 kHz) of 40 – 70 dB HL.  Participants are evaluated at multiple intervals (pre-implant through 12-months post-implant) using a variety of test measures to evaluate sound localization, speech understanding and quality of life.  Additional details are available at ClinicalTrials.gov searching on NCT03052920.  We encourage potential participants or their audiologists/clinicians to contact the closest participating site.

Participating Sites’ Contact Information:

Washington University - St. Louis, MO

            Noël Dwyer, AuD  314-362-7245  ndwyer@wustl.edu

House Clinic - Los Angeles, CA

            Dawna Mills, AuD  213-483-9930  dmills@houseclinic.com

Saint Luke’s Midwest Ear Institute – Kansas City, MO

            Sarah Zlomke, AuD  816-932-1660  sking@saint-lukes.org

New York University School of Medicine – New York, NY

            Bill Shapiro, AuD  212-263-3311  william.shapiro@nyumc.org