Research

Current Studies & Become a Subject

Research is the backbone of science. By being a research participant, you have the ability to contribute to science while also learning about yourself. We could not conduct research without our participants and are thankful to every one of them.

Brain Health Follow-Up Study, Long-Term Effects of Hearing Intervention on Brain Health in the Aging and Cognitive Health Evaluation in Elders (ACHIEVE) randomized study– (ACHIEVE Brain Health)  

  • The ACHIEVE Brain Health Follow-Up Study is a 3-year follow-up to the Aging and Cognitive Health Evaluation in Elders (ACHIEVE) randomized study to determine the long-term effect of hearing intervention vs. successful aging/delayed hearing intervention on rates of cognitive decline and incident mild cognitive impairment or dementia.
  • NIH/NCDID 1R01AG076518-01
  • Enrollment: Pending. The ARCT lab is a quality control site for this trial. Enrollment will not take place at our site. 
  • USF Principal Investigator: Victoria Sanchez AuD PhD 
  • Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT05532657

Early-Stage Age Related Hearing Loss Investigation: A Pilot Study to asses mechanisms linking early Age-Related Hearing Loss and Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (ACHIEVE EARLHI)

The target risk group is 55-75-year old people with early-stage age-related hearing loss (ARHL) and amnestic mild cognitive impairment. The RCT, entitled “Early Age-Related Hearing Loss Investigation (EARHLI).  The mechanisms linking ARHL and Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (AD/ADRD) are unknown, but reduced social engagement and changes in brain organization/connectivity have been proposed. EARHLI focuses on early ARHL in middle and early older age, a critical time for AD/ADRD prevention. Unlike ACHIEVE, EARHLI also measures brain organization/connectivity. EARHLI will be a phase II 1:1 RCT of a hearing aid-based intervention versus a comparator (health education program) conducted over 12 months in 150 participants (n=76 undergoing MRI) with early ARHL at risk for AD/ADRD. The overarching hypothesis is that the hearing intervention will lead to improved social engagement and brain organization/connectivity that will lead to improved cognition compared with the comparator arm.  We will explore whether social engagement and brain organization/connectivity mediate the effects of the intervention on cognitive outcomes.

  • NIH/NCDID 1R01AG075083-01A1
  • Enrollment: The ARCT lab is a pilot study site and quality control site for this trial.
  • USF Principal Investigator: Victoria Sanchez, AuD PhD 
  • Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT05532657

Development and Assessment of a Spanish-Language Toolkit for Hearing Loss Self-Management (Aim 2) 

The purpose of the study is to develop and test Spanish-language patient education materials for hearing loss. First, we want to find out what people who speak Spanish think should go into these materials from focus groups. Next, we want to find out if people who speak Spanish have a better understanding of hearing loss and options for hearing loss help after receiving these. 

  • NIH/NIDCD R21DC018655
  • USF Principal Investigator: Michelle Arnold AuD PhD 
  • Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT04534387 

Project: Pilot Study to Evaluate the Long-term Chronic Care of Patients who could or do utilize an Osseointegrated Device (OID)  

Based on the ACHIEVE model, the purpose of this study is to evaluate the cognitive effects of OID hearing intervention among patients who could vs. do utilize an OID

  • USF Principal Investigator-Initiated Research Study
  • Enrollment: Active
  • USF Principal Investigator: Victoria Sanchez, AuD PhD 
  • Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT04899037 

Auditory Ecology and its Relationship to Audiologic Intervention Outcomes in a Diverse Population 

Pilot study to characterize auditory ecology and factors related to auditory ecology in a diverse sample and to gain insight on real-world communicative mass (e.g., speech understanding, listening effort) and how auditory ecology may influence hearing aid outcomes

  • Sponsor: Iowa University
  • USF Principal Investigator: Michelle Arnold AuD PhD
  • Clinicaltrials.gov: N/A

Hearing Health Knowledge, Attitudes, and Beliefs among Black Women: A Multi-method Analysis 

To identify knowledge gaps regarding hearing loss and hearing healthcare among Black women and to determine whether the Health Belief Model (HBM) is an appropriate framework for exploring knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about hearing loss and hearing healthcare among Black adults, particularly women

  • USF Health Internal Award
  • USF Principal Investigator: Julia Toman MD 
  • Clinicaltrials.gov: N/A

Evaluation of Hearing Tests 

 We will several types of hearing tests among subjects with sensorineural hearing loss and normal hearing to guide clinical guidelines.

  • USF Principal Investigator -Initiated Research Study
  • USF Principal Investigator: Victoria Sanchez, AuD PhD 

3 Ototoxicity Monitoring Studies: STELLAR, SWOG, and TIP 

Chemotherapy and anti-cancer therapeutic agents may cause many adverse side effects on patients. Some of these adverse effects include peripheral neuropathy (PN), hearing loss (HL) and cognitive impairment (CI). Although the negative adverse effects are known, there is a paucity of evidence on early detection and real-time monitoring of these adverse side effects during chemotherapy treatment.

  • USF Principal Investigator -Initiated Research Study
  • USF Principal Investigator: Victoria Sanchez, AuD PhD