Zapping the brain while training the ear: a new tactic to hear one voice in a crowd
NCT ID NCT06738030
First seen Jul 29, 2026 · Last updated Jul 30, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This trial tests whether non-invasive brain stimulation can enhance the effects of an at-home auditory training program for adults aged 50 and older who have difficulty understanding speech when multiple people are talking. Participants receive transcranial alternating current stimulation (or a sham) while listening to speech-on-speech tasks, and complete online auditory training over two weeks. The goal is to see if the combination improves speech understanding and reduces listening effort.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- transcranial alternating current stimulation combined with an at-home auditory training program
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this approach could offer a non-invasive way to improve speech understanding in noisy environments for older adults.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early-stage trial with a modest sample size. The stimulation may not provide additional benefit beyond auditory training alone, and individual results may vary.
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 94 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Nov 2025
- Expected to finish
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Mar 2027
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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50 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: * 50 years of age or older * Audiometric thresholds that do not exceed 90 dB HL at any frequency from 250-6000 Hz * Able to provide informed consent and understand experimental instructions * Able to read print on a computer screen * Difficulty with speech-on-speech understanding * Access to computer or mobile phone with access to internet that can play sound (for the at-home training) Exclusion Criteria: * Non-native speakers of English * History of skull fracture, scalp tissue damage, metallic implants around the head, seizures, neurological disorders, or traumatic brain injury, current or suspected pregnancy
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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
1 site. 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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Communication Neuroscience Research Lab at Boston University
RECRUITINGBoston, Massachusetts, 02215, United States