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Ear zaps may reveal how well your vagus nerve works

NCT ID NCT05680337

Knowledge-focused Sponsor: Bakulev Scientific Center of Cardiovascular Surgery Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

What the study statuses mean

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Recruitment status, easiest to join first

Recruiting now
This trial is taking on new participants right now.
Not yet recruiting
Registered, but not yet taking participants.
By invitation only
Not open to general applications. Only people the study team invites can take part.
Paused
Paused for now. It may or may not start again.
Ongoing
Running, but no longer taking on new participants.
Completed This study
The trial has finished. Results may not be published yet.
Stopped early
Stopped early, before it reached the end. That can be for many reasons, including safety.
Cancelled
Cancelled before anyone took part.

Expanded access (not trials)

Expanded access
Not a trial. This treatment can be requested outside a study, case by case, for people who qualify.
Expanded access (paused)
Not a trial. The treatment can normally be requested outside a study, but is unavailable right now.
Expanded access (ended)
Not a trial. The treatment could once be requested outside a study, but no longer can.
Approved
The treatment has been approved, so it is available normally rather than through this programme.

When the status isn't known

Details not published
The full record has not been published yet, so there is little to show here.
Status unknown
This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.

First seen Jul 20, 2026 · Last updated Jul 21, 2026 · Updated 1 time

Summary

This study tests whether a mild electrical pulse delivered to the ear (transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation) can reliably alter heart rate variability, a measure of nervous system balance. Researchers will compare active stimulation to a sham (fake) stimulation in 140 healthy adults. The goal is to see if heart rate variability can serve as a dependable marker of vagus nerve activation.

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance
transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) of the auricular vagus nerve
What this could lead to
If successful, this could establish a reliable way to measure vagus nerve activation, helping future treatments for conditions like anxiety, epilepsy, or heart disease.
What could go wrong
This is a small, early-stage study focused on a biomarker, not a treatment. Previous results have been mixed, so the effect may be too small or inconsistent to be useful.

This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.

Study facts

What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.

Phase

Not a phased trial

Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.

Participants

140 people

The number who actually took part.

Started

Dec 2022

Finished

Apr 2026

Lead sponsor

A government agency

The lead sponsor is a government body.

Who can take part

This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.

Ages

18 to 75 years

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

Accepted

You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.

Show the full entry requirements

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: * Sinus rhythm at the time of registration Exclusion Criteria: * Frequent ventricular / supraventricular extrasystole, 2d/3d degree AV Block * Taking glucocorticosteroids in the last 1 month * Taking any antiarrhythmics, except beta blockers * Severe chronic renal or liver pathology

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As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

Heart rate variability Vagus nerve stimulation

Contacts and locations

Locations

  • Bakulev National Medical Research Center for Cardiovascular Surgery

    Moscow, 121552, Russia

  • Federal Center for Cardiovascular Surgery (Astrakhan)

    Astrakhan, Russia

  • State Budget Public Health Institution Scientific Research Institute - Ochapovsky Regional Clinical Hospital

    Krasnodar, Russia

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