Clinical Research Directory

Audiological Rehabilitation of Children With Unilateral Hearing Loss

The goal of this study is to examine the effects of hearing aids and early intervention on hearing, language, and neural development in children with hearing loss in one ear, known as unilateral hearing loss. Our main research questions are: 1. Do children with unilateral hearing loss with earlier access to hearing aids and early intervention have better speech understanding in noise than children with unilateral hearing loss with later or no access to intervention? 2. Do children with unilateral hearing loss with earlier access to intervention have more typical responses in the brain than children with late or no access to intervention? 3. Do children with unilateral hearing loss with earlier access to intervention have better speech and language skills than children with late or no access to intervention? Researchers will collect hearing, language, and neural data and information about each child's access to intervention to examine the longitudinal impact of auditory experience on these outcomes. Participants and their caregivers will: * Answer questions about the child's health, developmental, and hearing histories. * Receive hearing tests and speech recognition tests. * Complete tests of speech and language abilities. * A subset of eligible participants will undergo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magneotencephalography (MEG).

Evaluation of Cochlear Implantation in Unilateral or Asymmetric Hearing Loss in Children.

Today, unilateral hearing loss must be assessed and managed just as bilateral hearing loss is. It is recommended to consider the auditory difficulties caused by the loss of stereophonic hearing and to offer auditory rehabilitation as early as possible. Studies show that hearing devices can be effective in certain cases and for specific auditory modalities. The prognostic factors for successful hearing aid adaptation are linked to early intervention and the presence of residual hearing (using a BiCROS system). However, the cochlear implant remains the only device capable of potentially restoring contralateral auditory function in cases of single-sided deafness (SSD) and severe to profound unilateral hearing loss with asymmetrical deafness

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study of the Central Auditory System After Single Sided Deafness

The objective is to study the relation between the reorganization of the central auditory system, and the psychophysical deficits in binaural hearing in subjects with single sided deafness.