# Role and Mechanism of Hearing Impairment in Cognitive Decline and Dementia

> **NIH NIH K01** · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $129,361

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
Jennifer A. Deal is an epidemiologist and gerontologist, with a position as Assistant Scientist in the Department
of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Medicine and a secondary appointment in the
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. She seeks a
mentored career development award to fill knowledge gaps in her current training so that her research can
successfully bridge the diverse fields of cognitive aging, audiology, otolaryngology, epidemiology and cognitive
neuroscience in order to improve the health of older adults.
The primary component of the training proposal includes a comprehensive five-year plan of formal and informal
instruction in the acquisition, processing and analysis of neuroimaging data (structural MRI and PiB PET) in
large population-based studies. The PI will also augment current knowledge about the collection and analysis
of hearing data in epidemiologic studies with additional training in the clinical aspects and pathophysiology of
hearing impairment. The training program consists of didactic coursework and seminars, clinic observations,
and mentored research by an established and diverse team of experts. Short-term career goals include
completion and dissemination of high-quality mentored research through publications and presentations and
application for independent R01 funding beginning in the fourth year of the award period. Long-term career
goals are to be an independent investigator in the area of aging and cognitive decline and dementia, with
expertise in hearing impairment.
The specific aims of the proposed research are to quantify the independent association of HI incident dementia
and with domain-specific cognitive decline in three well-characterized prospective observational studies, to
investigate the relationship of HI with changes in brain volume over time (both in regions related to Alzheimer's
disease and to auditory processing), and to quantify the role of vascular factors in the development of HI.
Completion of the proposed aims will elucidate the role and mechanism of hearing impairment in dementia and
domain-specific cognitive decline, providing possible targets for future clinical research with the potential to
inform efforts to prevent these adverse outcomes in older adults.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9974449
- **Project number:** 5K01AG054693-04
- **Recipient organization:** JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Jennifer Anne Deal
- **Activity code:** K01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $129,361
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-08-15 → 2022-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9974449

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9974449, Role and Mechanism of Hearing Impairment in Cognitive Decline and Dementia (5K01AG054693-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9974449. Licensed CC0.

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