Can a gentle ear zap wake the brain after a bleed?

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

Inclusion Criteria: * Spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage. * Age 18 to 75 years. * Surgical intervention performed within 48 hours after symptom onset. * Glasgow Coma Scale score of 5 to 9 on postoperative day 5 while the participant is not sedated; for intubated participants, the verbal component is scored as 1T. * Surgical hematoma evacuation by craniotomy, endoscopic evacuation, or minimally invasive aspiration/fragmentation. * Written informed consent provided by the participant's legally authorized representative. Exclusion Criteria: * • Intracranial hemorrhage caused by a confirmed intracranial aneurysm, cerebral vascular malformation, intracranial tumor, arterial thrombosis, or venous thrombosis. * Injury to critical brain structures affecting consciousness, including brainstem hemorrhage or thalamic hemorrhage greater than 20 mL. * Isolated intraventricular hemorrhage. * Severe cardiomyopathy, heart failure, atrial fibrillation, frequent premature beats, second-degree or higher atrioventricular block, or another severe cardiac arrhythmia. * Unstable postoperative vital signs, defined as systolic blood pressure below 90 mm Hg or heart rate below 50 beats per minute. * New cerebral infarction or recurrent intracranial hemorrhage between surgery and randomization. * Acute myocardial ischemia or myocardial infarction between surgery and randomization. * Previous vagus nerve electrical stimulation, previous cervical vagotomy, concurrent use of another stimulation device, or presence of an implanted electronic medical device, including a muscle stimulator, cardiac pacemaker, hearing aid, or any other implanted electronic device. * Skin breakdown, infection, erythema, or another condition at the electrode-placement site that makes taVNS unsuitable. * Pregnant, peripartum, or postpartum women. * Current participation in another clinical trial.