Could a simple ear device help stroke survivors find their words?
NCT ID NCT07563387
First seen Jun 24, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study tests whether a non-invasive device that gently stimulates the vagus nerve through the ear can improve speech recovery in people with aphasia after stroke or brain injury. Twelve adults with apraxia of speech will receive either active or sham stimulation during 16 weeks of daily speech therapy. Researchers will track side effects, compliance, and changes in speech production to see if the approach is safe and promising.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could point toward a new way to boost speech therapy for people with aphasia after stroke or brain injury.
- What could go wrong
- This is a very small early study with only 12 participants, so results may not apply to everyone. It is also testing a device, not a drug, so the effect may be modest.
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 12 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jan 2026
- Expected to finish
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Jan 2028
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 80 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: * Adults between 18-80 * Native speakers of English or simultaneous bilinguals * At least 6 months post stroke or TBI * Diagnosed production type aphasia or apraxia of speech Exclusion Criteria: * Additional cognitive or neurological impairments (Autism, schizophrenia, seizures, etc) * Language comprehension deficits * Medications that influence key neurotransmitters
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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
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
The full official record for this study. This one lists no contact details, but it is the first place any would appear.
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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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Brooks Rehabilitation Clinical Research Center
Jacksonville, Florida, 32216, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Can hearing your own voice rewire speech after a stroke?
- Zapping the brain to restore speech after stroke?
- Can exercise boost reading recovery in stroke survivors?
- Can training the brain to think about words boost recovery from stroke-related aphasia?
- Can an AI app give a voice to brain tumor patients?
- Brain zaps may unlock lost words after stroke