# Aging, Cognition, and Hearing Evaluation in Elders (ACHIEVE) Randomized Trial

> **NIH NIH R01** · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $2,841,558

## Abstract

Novel approaches to reduce the risk of age-related cognitive decline, Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and other
dementias in older adults are urgently needed given the aging of the population. Epidemiologic studies
demonstrate that peripheral hearing loss in older adults is strongly and independently associated with
accelerated cognitive decline and incident dementia. Hypothesized mechanistic pathways underlying this
observed association include the effects of poor hearing and distorted peripheral encoding of sound on
cognitive load, brain structure/function, and/or reduced social engagement. Importantly, these pathways may
be modifiable with comprehensive hearing loss treatment consisting of the use of hearing technologies
(hearing aids, other integrated hearing assistive devices) and rehabilitative training. To date, however, there
has never been a randomized trial that has investigated whether such therapies could reduce cognitive decline
and the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias in older adults. Over the past two years, we have
developed the Aging, Cognition, and Hearing Evaluation in Elders (ACHIEVE) randomized trial. The ACHIEVE
trial will recruit 750 70-84 year-old cognitively-normal older adults with hearing loss who will be randomized 1:1
to the hearing intervention (hearing needs assessment, fitting of hearing devices, education/counseling) or
control intervention (individualized successful aging education sessions with a health educator covering
healthy aging topics). The trial will be powered to detect a minimum of a 0.30 standard deviation (SD)
difference in the annual rate of cognitive decline between the hearing intervention and the successful aging
intervention arms over a 3-year follow-up period. The ACHIEVE study brings together a multidisciplinary group
of investigators and leverages the existing research infrastructure, scientific expertise, and well-characterized
participant cohort of the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Neurocognitive Study (ARIC-NCS). The
ACHIEVE trial has the following aims: Aim 1 To determine the effect of hearing rehabilitative intervention
versus a successful aging control intervention on rates of cognitive decline (primary outcome measure) in 70‐
84 year‐old cognitively-normal older adults with hearing loss. Aim 2 To determine the effect of hearing
rehabilitative intervention versus a successful aging control intervention on secondary outcome measures of
adjudicated incident dementia, physical and social functioning, health-related quality of life, and physical
activity. Secondary Aims: 1) To investigate whether hearing rehabilitative intervention alters established
trajectories of cognitive decline in participants recruited from ARIC-NCS. 2) To investigate the effect of hearing
rehabilitative intervention on rates of cognitive decline in persons with Alzheimer’s disease risk factors and
biomarkers. Given that nearly two-thirds of all adults 70 years and older have a clinically-significant h...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9966836
- **Project number:** 5R01AG055426-04
- **Recipient organization:** JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** JOSEF CORESH
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $2,841,558
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-06-01 → 2022-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9966836

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9966836, Aging, Cognition, and Hearing Evaluation in Elders (ACHIEVE) Randomized Trial (5R01AG055426-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9966836. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*