# Early intervention as a determinant of hearing aid benefit for age-related hearing loss: Results from longitudinal cohort studies

> **NIH NIH F32** · MEDICAL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA · 2024 · $72,010

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Age-related hearing loss (ARHL) is a highly prevalent chronic condition and is associated with poorer
psychosocial well-being, communication, and cognitive function. Evidence that hearing aid (HA) use mitigates
negative consequences of ARHL is inconclusive because, in part, longitudinal population-based studies of
hearing with sufficient follow-up times are rare and few have considered the extent to which earlier intervention
with HA improves long-term HA outcomes and reduces the wide-ranging consequences of ARHL. The long-
term objective is to reduce impacts of ARHL by maximizing overall HA benefit. The specific objective is to
holistically assess benefits of HA use on psychosocial well-being, communication, and cognitive outcomes that
capture general and hearing-specific health and determine the extent to which earlier intervention for ARHL is
a determinant of HA benefit. To achieve this objective, two specific aims are proposed. Aim 1 will use
longitudinal data from the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) Longitudinal Cohort Study of ARHL to
determine benefits of HA use and assess contributions of early intervention and test hypotheses that a) use of
HA will be associated with better general health aspects of psychosocial well-being, cognition, and
communication, and b) earlier intervention with HA will be associated with greater HA benefit as determined by
these outcomes. Aim 2 will use cross-temporal data to determine benefits of HA use and assess contributions
of early intervention using historic and newly collected data from participants in the MUSC Longitudinal Cohort
Study of ARHL to test hypotheses that a) use of HA will be associated with better hearing-specific psychosocial
well-being and communication outcomes, and b) earlier intervention with HA will be associated with greater HA
benefit as determined by these outcomes. Results from this project will positively impact public health research
and clinical practice. Specifically, results can inform future epidemiological research and/or clinical trials aiming
to determine effects of early intervention on HA benefit, optimal timing of HA interventions, and the appropriate
age to begin screening for ARHL. This project and line of research directly addresses the National Academies
of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (2016) recommendation to improve prospective population-based
evidence on impacts of ARHL and its treatment and aligns with NIDCD’s strategic plan on secondary and
tertiary prevention and health promotion for individuals with ARHL. That is, this proposal aims to determine
importance of early intervention for ARHL (secondary prevention) and benefits of HA use (tertiary prevention)
on general and hearing-related measures of psychosocial well-being, communication, and cognition. This
project and training plan will provide rigorous mentored training in new methods focused on epidemiological
and public health research in audiology, grantsmanship,...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10906021
- **Project number:** 5F32DC021078-02
- **Recipient organization:** MEDICAL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA
- **Principal Investigator:** Lauren Kay Dillard
- **Activity code:** F32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $72,010
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-09-01 → 2025-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10906021

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10906021, Early intervention as a determinant of hearing aid benefit for age-related hearing loss: Results from longitudinal cohort studies (5F32DC021078-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10906021. Licensed CC0.

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