Hearing Loss and Cognition MRI Study

Study Title: “Exploring Cognitive Reserve in Adults with Acute and Chronic Hearing Loss using Multi-Modal MRI”. 

Who are we? We are the Cognition and Neuroscience of Aging Lab (CANAL) under the supervision of Dr. John Anderson at Carleton. We are currently looking for adults for a study about hearing loss, brain structure, and cognition.

What will we ask you to do? We will ask you to take part in three sessions:

• Session 1 (90 min): over the phone or Zoom where you will be asked a series of screening questions to confirm your eligibility (30 min). If eligible, you’ll be booked for Session 2 and given a link to continue with online surveys (60 min)
  
  

• Session 2 (120 min): you will meet in-person at The Royal Ottawa Mental Health Center (“The Royal”) and be asked to complete questionnaires, cognitive tasks, hearing assessment and a mock scan. Responses will be audio recorded, though you may opt-out.
  
  

• Session 3 (135 min): you will meet in-person at The Royal for the MRI scan.  For a portion of the scan you will be asked to lie still, while for other portions you will lie still while you complete brain games.

Why do this? Help researchers understand how different causes of hearing loss may impact brain structure and function. You will be paid $20 for Session 1, $40 for Session 2, and $40 for Session 3, and provided with parking codes for the Royal. You will also receive an image of your brain. 

Eligibility and Exclusion:

We are exploring two sources of hearing loss, 1) age and 2) platinum “platin” or taxane based chemotherapy, in Canadian residents, who are right-handed and fluent in English 

Participants with age-related hearing loss will be healthy adults aged 60 and over with either:

• Normal hearing

• Age-related hearing loss

Participants in the chemotherapy-treated group will be adults aged 30-65 and either:

• Cancer survivors who have had platinum or taxane based chemotherapy treatment and are at least 6-months post-treatment (treatment group)

• Age-matched healthy adults

Participants cannot be included if they have/are: 

• Not considered safe to undergo MRI scanning

• Over 300 pounds in weight

• Neuropsychiatric conditions (e.g., severe depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder)

• Neurological disorders (e.g., epilepsy/seizures, multiple sclerosis (MS), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Parkinson’s disease, brian tumor)

• History of concussion requiring hospitalization or unconsciousness lasting greater than 5 minutes

• Untreated cardiovascular conditions, including history of heart attack

• Untreated diabetes or hypertension

• History of neurovascular injury (i.e. stroke, transient ischemic attack (TIA) aneurysm, meningitis)

• Diagnosed learning disability, or developmental delay

• History of cancer if not in the chemotherapy treatment group

• Frequent use of cannabis or alcohol 

• Ear pathology requiring medical intervention such as a hole in the eardrum, otosclerosis, single sided hearing loss, or chronic dizziness

Risks: MRI scanning uses strong magnetic fields and radiofrequency pulses, and is considered a routine procedure. We do not foresee any major risks from your participation in the research, provided that the MRI safety screening has been completed.  You will be thoroughly screened by both the researcher and the MRI technologist prior to entering the magnet. Minor discomfort may be experienced from lying still in the scanner, from scanner noise, or from heating induced by skin-to skin contact. Comfortable padding, hearing protection, and appropriate clothing will be provided to minimize this discomfort.

Lead Researcher:  Imola X. MacPhee, Au.D.  Principal Investigator: John A.E. Anderson Ph.D., Supervisor 

This project was reviewed and cleared by the Carleton University Research Ethics Board-B (Protocol #122846). If you have ethical concerns with the study, please contact Carleton University Research Ethics: 613-520-2600 ext. 2517, email: ethics@carleton.ca

Interested in participating?  

Please click the button below to complete the contact form; a researcher will then contact you: