Cochlear implants tailored to ear anatomy could sharpen hearing
NCT ID NCT07691853
First seen Jul 09, 2026 · Last updated Jul 10, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study tests whether programming a cochlear implant based on a person's inner ear anatomy improves hearing compared to the standard approach. Participants are adults with severe hearing loss who use a cochlear implant in one ear and a hearing aid in the other. Researchers will measure speech understanding in quiet and noise, as well as sound quality, using both fitting methods in a single session.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Anatomy-based fitting (device programming)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could lead to better hearing in quiet and noisy settings for people who use both a cochlear implant and a hearing aid.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-stage study with only 25 participants, so results may not apply to everyone. The benefit over standard fitting may be small or absent.
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
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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
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About 25 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jul 2024
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2026
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide 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: * Age ≥ 18 years * Post-lingual onset of severe to profound sensory-neural hearing loss in the implanted ear(s) * Post-operative Computed Tomography (CT) scan of the CI electrode available * Subject implanted with MED-EL cochlear implant(s) * Subject received a Flex28, FlexSoft or Standard electrode * Subject uses a SONNET 2 or RONDO 3 audio processor * Subject has experience of at least 6 months with cochlear implant * The most apical active electrode contact has to be inserted at least 540° * Minimum of 10 active channels are activated * Subject wears an adequately fitted hearing aid on the contralateral side * Fluent in the language of the test centre * Signed and dated Informed Consent Form (ICF) before the start of any study-specific procedure Exclusion Criteria: * Lack of compliance with any inclusion criteria * Implanted with C40+, C40X and C40C * Implanted with an Auditory Brainstem Implant (ABI) or Split electrode array * Anything that, in the opinion of the Investigator, would place the subject at increased risk or pre-clude the subject's full compliance with or completion of the study
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
2 sites. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Antwerp University Hopsital
RECRUITINGAntwerp, 2650, Belgium
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University Hospital Brussels
RECRUITINGBrussels, 1090, Belgium
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