Bethesda, Md — The Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) is spreading the word about a new adult cochlear implant study that is seeking adult participants in the greater Washington, DC metropolitan area.
The goal of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness of training for adults who have received cochlear implants. The researchers would like to determine whether a special training program can help cochlear implant users improve their understanding of speech and communication in daily life.
Study participants must be 18 years of age or older, post-lingually deafened (onset of hearing loss after having learned spoken language), and fluent in English, and have had their cochlear implant between 3 months and 3 years. They must also live in Washington, DC, Maryland, or Virginia.
While there is no monetary compensation, the study organizers note that those who participate in this study may improve their communication ability and gain further knowledge in this area, while also helping determine the best training method for cochlear implant users.
Participation will require 8 weekly visits of 90 minutes each, scheduled at the participant’s convenience. There will be two follow-up visits, one at 2 months and one at 6 months following the last training session, which also run 90 minutes each.
The visits will take place at several Washington area locations, including Gallaudet University and George Washington University. Some of the training sessions are available at HLAA’s National Office in Bethesda.
For more information, contact Tiffany H. Finnegan, AuD, CCCA, research audiologist, at Gallaudet University, at (202) 448-7083 or [email protected].
