SecureSound
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Sound Field Aided Thresholds and Speech Understanding with a Novel Non-surgical Wearing Option for BHM Contact Forte
IRAS ID
358368
Contact name
Anirvan Banerjee
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 11 months, 31 days
Research summary
This is a single site, repeated measures study using a simulated technique and end user engagement with healthy adult volunteers (18-55years), to define the range of "normal" results or physiological signals under known normative conditions (soft band and adhesive adaptor) and test (SecureSound) conditions to validate the technological audiological performance and assess user experience to aid further development.
Bone Conduction Hearing Devices (BCHDs) offer an effective non-surgical solution for individuals with conductive and mixed hearing losses (CHL/ MHL) or single-sided deafness. A new non-surgical wearing option, SecureSound, has been developed for use with the BHM Contact Forte. This is a device designed to be worn around the back of the outer ear (pinna), holding the hearing aid in place just behind the ear, on the bone (mastoid).
20 adult volunteers with normal hearing (confirmed with otoscopy and pure-tone audiometry) will be asked to try out the new SecureSound system and two other existing ways of wearing the device — a soft headband and an adhesive adaptor — to see how well each one works. Each person will try all three methods to ensure fair comparison. The order in which they try the different methods will be varied to make sure the results aren't affected by a volunteer getting tired or "learning" how to do the test better over time.
Measured outcomes include:
1. How quietly the volunteers can hear different sounds.
2. How much the device helps them hear better.
3. How well they understand speech in a quiet room.
4. How well they understand speech in a noisy room.REC name
London - Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
26/LO/0123
Date of REC Opinion
20 Feb 2026
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion