# The Association of Perinatal HIV Infection and Hearing Loss in Children of Cape Town, South Africa

> **NIH NIH R01** · SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $350,882

## Abstract

Project Abstract
There is strong evidence of human immunodeficiency virus infected (HIV+) children being more
at risk for hearing loss. Identification of permanent hearing loss is important because hearing
loss can impact speech and language development in children. The primary goal is to collect
hearing sensitivity data from South African children who were perinatally infected with HIV
(PHIV+). Children will be recruited from two ongoing studies in Cape Town, South Africa: the
Children with HIV Early Antiretroviral Therapy (CHER) trial and the P1104s study of the
International Maternal Pediatric Adolescent AIDS Clinical Trial (IMPAACT). Hearing data will be
obtained in PHIV+, HIV-exposed but uninfected (PHEU), and HIV-unexposed and uninfected
(HU) children using a hearing examination protocol. The hearing protocol includes: 1) otoscopy,
to evaluate the ear canal and tympanic membrane; 2) tympanometry, to evaluate middle-ear
function; 3) pure-tone air- and bone-conduction audiometry, speech audiometry, dichotic digits
testing (together with measures of neurocognitive function), to evaluate the entire auditory
system; 4) distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs), to evaluate cochlear function
within the inner ear; and 5) auditory brainstem responses (ABRs), to evaluate auditory neural
function to the level of the brainstem. Advanced multimodal neuroimaging techniques, including
structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for morphometry, task based and resting state
functional MRI (FMRI) to assess auditory cortex function and network connectivity, and diffusion
tensor imaging, will be used to evaluate the effects of HIV on the different components of the
central auditory system in a comprehensive way. Speech audiometry measures will also be
used to determine the impact of HIV on communication. Using DPOAEs, ABRs, and imaging in
one protocol will allow for an examination of how specific auditory stimuli are processed from
within the cochlea, along the auditory neural pathway to the brainstem, and finally to targeted
components of the auditory cortex. These measures will contribute to a better understanding as
to which portions of the auditory system are more vulnerable to HIV. There are two advantages
of this proposal. First there is an existing collaboration with researchers in Cape Town and there
is a new collaboration with neuroimaging experts in Cape Town; the continued support from
CHER and P1104s researchers will allow for access to extensive demographic data and HIV
disease and treatment data since childhood. Second, the extensive hearing protocol paired with
an extensive neuroimaging protocol will provide the first of its kind data in HIV-infected children.
These data will impact both the HIV and hearing literatures.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9978040
- **Project number:** 5R01DC015984-04
- **Recipient organization:** SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** PETER TORRE
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $350,882
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-08-10 → 2022-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9978040

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9978040, The Association of Perinatal HIV Infection and Hearing Loss in Children of Cape Town, South Africa (5R01DC015984-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9978040. Licensed CC0.

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