Shape Coding for Hearing Loss

Overseen By Jena McDaniel, PhD

Age: < 18

Sex: Any

Trial Phase: Academic

Sponsor: Vanderbilt University

Disqualifiers: Dyslexia, Uncorrected vision, Severe motor, others

No Placebo Group All trial participants will receive the active study treatment (no placebo)

Compensation: Varies

Number of Visits: Unknown

30 Participants Needed

Trial Summary

Will I have to stop taking my current medications?

The trial information does not specify whether participants need to stop taking their current medications.

How does the Shape Coding treatment for hearing loss differ from other treatments?

The Shape Coding treatment for hearing loss is unique because it focuses on classifying and recognizing different audiogram shapes, which can help tailor interventions more precisely to individual hearing profiles. This approach aims to reduce errors and improve consistency across clinical settings, unlike traditional treatments that may not consider the specific shape of hearing loss. ^{1 2 3 4 5}

What is the purpose of this trial?

The proposed research addresses a long-standing and important challenge of improving literacy skills of children who are deaf and hard of hearing, a historically under researched group. The investigators aim to leverage shape coding - an empirically validated intervention approach for constructing sentences in spoken English - for improving how efficiently children who are deaf and hard of hearing learn to correctly construct sentences in written English. To advance the promising yet underutilized research on shape coding, the investigators complete the next logical step of applying the visual supports provided with shape coding to written language for deaf and hard of hearing children. Shape coding has been effective for teaching sentence structure in spoken English to children with language disabilities and has recently been applied to sentence structure in American Sign Language with deaf and hard of hearing children. Intervention involving shape coding is predicted to result in increased accuracy of word order in sentences in written English because deaf and hard of hearing children often benefit from visual information. The investigators will accomplish this aim using single case multiple probe across participants design studies with 30 fifth through eighth grade children who are deaf and hard of hearing. The knowledge gained will guide language and literacy intervention for children who are deaf and hard of hearing.

Eligibility Criteria

This trial is for children in grades 5-8 who are deaf or hard of hearing. It aims to improve their written English sentence construction skills using shape coding, a visual support intervention.

Inclusion Criteria

I use English and ASL, and possibly other languages.

Participants must have bilateral hearing loss

Participants must demonstrate the ability to read and understand the grammatical structures of interest and already be writing sentences but demonstrate errors in word order and/or grammar

Exclusion Criteria

Diagnosis of dyslexia

Uncorrected vision impairment (i.e., identified vision loss without use of corrective lenses that interferes with eligibility evaluation tasks)

I struggle with severe motor skills issues, making it hard for me to complete tasks on my own.

Timeline

Screening

Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial

2-4 weeks

Intervention

Participants receive shape coding intervention to improve sentence construction in written English

8 weeks

Follow-up

Participants are monitored for maintenance of skills after intervention has ended

3 weeks

Treatment Details

Interventions

• Shape Coding

Trial Overview The study tests the effectiveness of shape coding on improving accuracy in word order for written English sentences among deaf and hard of hearing children. The research involves single case studies with each participant being observed individually.

Participant Groups

Group I: Shape coding Experimental Treatment 1 Intervention

Intervention will be introducing and utilizing Shape Coding to construct sentences.

Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?

Vanderbilt University

Lead Sponsor

Trials

714

Recruited

6,143,000+

References

1. England pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Using cluster analysis to classify audiogram shapes. [2010]

2. United States pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Spectral-peak selection in spectral-shape discrimination by normal-hearing and hearing-impaired listeners. [2019]

3. United States pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Envelope coding in auditory nerve fibers following noise-induced hearing loss. [2022]

4. United States pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Simple triangular approximations of auditory filter shapes. [2019]

5. Switzerland pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Noise-induced hearing loss increases the temporal precision of complex envelope coding by auditory-nerve fibers. [2022]