Can a gentle ear zap help heal traumatic brain injury?
NCT ID NCT07510074
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jul 17, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This early-stage study tests whether a device that gently stimulates a nerve in the ear is safe and practical for people with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury. Sixteen adults will receive either real or sham stimulation while in the hospital. The main goal is to see if the procedure is well-tolerated, not to prove it works as a treatment.
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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 16 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Expected to start
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Aug 2026
An estimate. Start dates often move.
- 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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18 to 75 years
- 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 18-75 years old * Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) Score 3-12 * Expected Intensive Care Unit (ICU) stay \> 48 hours * Presenting with acute Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) within 24 hours Exclusion Criteria: * Pregnant * Any electrical implanted device * Immunomodulatory medication * Human Immune Deficiency Virus (HIV) patients * Autoimmune disease * Known cancer immunotherapy * Past medical history of symptomatic bradycardia * Penetrating brain injury * Clinical team assessment of prognosis and imminent risk of death such as Decision to withdraw life-sustaining measures * Current incarceration * Trauma/Laceration to the left ear
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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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University Hospital
San Antonio, Texas, 78229, United States
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University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
San Antonio, Texas, 78229, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Can a web program rebuild memory after brain injury?
- Why a simple fall can cause brain bleeding in older adults
- Bedside ultrasound could flag hidden brain injury decline
- Zapping the brain to restore lost vision
- Machine learning may forecast brain decline after head injury
- MRI tracer could expose hidden brain energy crisis after head injury