Comparing Audiobook Club with Group Singing for age-related hearing loss
Official title: Benefits of Choir for Older Adults With Unaddressed Hearing Loss (WP2)
Speech-in-noise, Psychosocial, and Heart Rate Variability Outcomes of Group Singing or Audiobook Club Interventions for Older Adults With Unaddressed Hearing Loss: a SingWell Project Multisite, Randomized Controlled Trial.
- 2 groups
- Sites in St. John's, Toronto and 1 more city
- Recruiting
Interventions
- Behavioural therapy
Group Singing
12 week choir program consisting of 1.5 hours of in-person instruction per week.
- Behavioural therapy
Audiobook Club
12 week audiobook club program consisting of 1.5 hours of in-person discussion per week.
Canadian Sites (3)
1 of 3 recruiting
- Recruiting
Toronto Metropolitan University
Toronto, Ontario
- Not yet recruiting
Memorial University of Newfoundland
St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
- Not yet recruiting
Concordia University
Montreal, Quebec
Eligibility Criteria
See who this study is looking for7 criteria
The trial’s own eligibility text, word for word from the registry. Only the trial site can say who takes part.
Inclusion
- +Bilateral mild-to-moderate hearing loss (20-49 dB hearing level), measured using four-frequency pure-tone average across both ears (4FPTA) measured at 500 Hz, 1000 Hz, 2000 Hz, and 4000 Hz;
- +Adults aged 60 years and older;
- +Unaddressed hearing loss (i.e., participants must not currently use a hearing aid, cochlear implant, or assistive listening device);
- +No significant cognitive impairment, to be assessed with the Montreal Cognitive Assessment for people with hearing impairment (MoCA-H), with participants requiring a score ≥ 24;
- +Not use a pacemaker or anti-arrhythmic agents/medications;
- +Not currently participating in regular active music learning (e.g., choir, formal music training) or audiobook clubs within the last year; and
- +Sufficient language capacity to understand and complete the test materials. Note: all materials will be presented written and/or aurally in English at the sites located in Canada, United States of America, and Australia; Dutch at the Netherlands siteTrial siteA hospital or clinic where a study is actually run.Read more →; and German at the Germany site.
In plain language
Assembled directly from this trial’s registry record. Every sentence traces to a field below — nothing here is generated or interpreted.
What this study is
This study is testing a treatment for a condition.
This study is not organised into the usual phase numbers — that is common for device, behavioural, and diagnostic research.
From the trial registry
Built from these fields:
- designModule.designInfo.primaryPurpose
- designModule.phases
Who receives what
There are 2 groups in this study.
Group A receives Audiobook Club.
Registry label: A: Group Singing
Group B, the comparison group, receives Group Singing.
Registry label: B: Audiobook Club
From the trial registry
Built from these fields:
- armsInterventionsModule.armGroups[].label
- armsInterventionsModule.armGroups[].type
- armsInterventionsModule.armGroups[].interventionNames
How the study is run
Which group you would be placed in is decided by chance, like a coin flip — not by you and not by your doctor.
Neither you nor the study team would know which group you are in until the study ends.
From the trial registry
Built from these fields:
- designModule.designInfo.allocation
- designModule.designInfo.maskingInfo.masking
Is there a placebo?
This study does not list a placeboPlaceboA dummy treatment with no active medicine, used for comparison.Read more → group.
One group receives an existing treatment, so the two can be compared.
From the trial registry
Built from these fields:
- armsInterventionsModule.armGroups[].type
- armsInterventionsModule.armGroups[].interventionNames
Who the study is looking for
The study lists a minimum age of 60 years, with no upper limit given.
The study is open to people of any sex.
The study does not accept healthy volunteersHealthy volunteerSomeone without the condition being studied who takes part anyway.Read more →.
These are the criteria the study lists. Only the trial siteTrial siteA hospital or clinic where a study is actually run.Read more → can decide whether someone can take part.
From the trial registry
Built from these fields:
- eligibilityModule.minimumAge
- eligibilityModule.sex
- eligibilityModule.healthyVolunteers
How big and how long
The study aims to enrol about 210 people.
The study is currently expected to finish around September 2026.
The main measurement is taken over: BaselineBaselineYour starting measurements, taken before treatment begins.Read more → and completion (week 0 and week 13).
From the trial registry
Built from these fields:
- designModule.enrollmentInfo.count
- statusModule.completionDateStruct.date
- outcomesModule.primaryOutcomes[].timeFrame
What the study measures
Speech-in-noise perception — measured over BaselineBaselineYour starting measurements, taken before treatment begins.Read more → and completion (week 0 and week 13).
Emotional speech perception — measured over Baseline and completion (week 0 and week 13).
Quality of Life/Wellness — measured over Baseline and completion (week 0 and week 13).
Anxiety and Depression — measured over Baseline and completion (week 0 and week 13).
The study lists 9 further main measurements.
From the trial registry
Built from these fields:
- outcomesModule.primaryOutcomes[].measure
- outcomesModule.primaryOutcomes[].timeFrame
Source: NCT06580847 on ClinicalTrials.gov. The full registry text is further down this page — this summary never replaces it.
Not medical advice. What do these terms mean?
What is being tested — in plain terms
About Group SingingBehavioural
12 week choir program consisting of 1.5 hours of in-person instruction per week.
From the trial registry — its own words, unedited.
What a behavioural is here: A programme, therapy, education, or lifestyle approach being studied.
Read the full explanation → · in clinical review
About Audiobook ClubBehavioural
12 week audiobook club program consisting of 1.5 hours of in-person discussion per week.
From the trial registry — its own words, unedited.
What a behavioural is here: A programme, therapy, education, or lifestyle approach being studied.
Read the full explanation → · in clinical review
Common questions
Answered from this trial’s registry record. Where the record doesn’t say, these answers say so rather than filling the gap.
Am I eligible for this trial?
Only the trial siteTrial siteA hospital or clinic where a study is actually run.Read more → can decide whether someone can take part. Concord cannot make that determination, and neither can any tool that has not examined you.
What the study lists: a minimum age of 60 years.
The full inclusionInclusion criteriaThe things you must have or be for a study to consider you.Read more → and exclusion criteriaExclusion criteriaThe things that would prevent someone from taking part.Read more → are published on this page, exactly as the study team wrote them.
The useful next step is to bring this trial to your doctor. Answering a few questions first gives them something concrete to review.
From the trial registry
- eligibilityModule.minimumAge
- eligibilityModule.eligibilityCriteria
Is there a placebo?
This study does not list a placeboPlaceboA dummy treatment with no active medicine, used for comparison.Read more → group.
One group receives an existing treatment so the two can be compared.
From the trial registry
- armsInterventionsModule.armGroups[].type
Would I know which treatment I am getting?
Neither you nor the study team would know which group you are in until the study ends.
Which group you would be placed in is decided by chance, like a coin flip — not by you and not by your doctor.
From the trial registry
- designModule.designInfo.maskingInfo.masking
- designModule.designInfo.allocation
Who can join?
The study lists a minimum age of 60 years, with no upper limit given.
It is open to people of any sex.
It does not accept healthy volunteersHealthy volunteerSomeone without the condition being studied who takes part anyway.Read more →.
Only the trial siteTrial siteA hospital or clinic where a study is actually run.Read more → can confirm whether a particular person can take part.
From the trial registry
- eligibilityModule.minimumAge
- eligibilityModule.sex
- eligibilityModule.healthyVolunteers
How long would this take?
The study's main measurement is taken over: BaselineBaselineYour starting measurements, taken before treatment begins.Read more → and completion (week 0 and week 13).
The study as a whole is currently expected to finish around 2026-09.
How long any one person takes part can differ from the study length. The study team can tell you what the schedule looks like in practice.
From the trial registry
- outcomesModule.primaryOutcomes[].timeFrame
- statusModule.completionDateStruct.date
How many people are taking part?
The study aims to enrol about 210 people.
From the trial registry
- designModule.enrollmentInfo.count
Where is this happening?
This study lists 3 locations, including: St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Sites can open and close during a study, so confirm with the team before travelling.
From the trial registry
- trial_locations
About This Trial
Unaddressed age-related hearing loss is highly prevalent among older adults, typified by negative consequences for speech-in-noise perception and psychosocial wellbeing. There is promising evidence that group singing may enhance speech-in-noise perception and psychosocial wellbeing. However, there is a lack of robust evidence, primarily due to the literature being based on small sample sizes, single site studies, and a lack of randomized controlled trials. Hence, to address these concerns, this SingWell Project study utilizes an appropriate sample size, multisite, randomized controlled trial approach, with a robust preplanned statistical analysis. The objective of the study is to explore if group singing may improve speech-in-noise perception and psychosocial wellbeing for older adults with unaddressed hearing loss. The investigators designed an international, multisite, randomized controlled trial to explore the benefits of group singing for adults aged 60 years and older with unaddressed hearing loss. After undergoing an eligibility screening process and completing an information and consent form, the investigators intend to recruit 210 participants that will be randomly assigned to either group singing or an audiobook club (control group) intervention for a training period of 12-weeks. The study has multiple timepoints for testing, that are broadly categorized as macro (i.e., pre- and post-measures across the 12-weeks), or micro timepoints (i.e., pre- and post-measures across a weekly training session). Macro measures include behavioural measures of speech and music perception, and psychosocial questionnaires. Micro measures include psychosocial questionnaires and heart-rate variability. The investigators hypothesize that group singing may be effective at improving speech perception and psychosocial outcomes for older adults with unaddressed hearing loss-more so than participants in the control group.
Think this trial might be right for you?
Complete a quick intake form and we will match you with this and other relevant trials based on your medical profile.
See if this trial could fit youThis page is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Clinical trial eligibility can only be determined by the trial site after proper screening. Trial information is sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov and may not reflect the most current status. Always consult your healthcare provider before making decisions about clinical trial participation.