Research

Grants

ACHIEVE RCT - Aging and Cognitive Health Evaluation in Elders Randomized Control Trial 

  • The ACHIEVE study will be a randomized controlled trial nested within the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study. 850 70-84 year-old cognitively normal older adults with hearing loss will be randomized 1:1 to the hearing intervention (hearing needs assessment, fitting of hearing devices, education/counseling) or successful aging intervention (individual sessions with a health educator covering healthy aging topics). Post baseline, participants will be followed semi-annually for 3 years.
  • NIH/NIA 1 R01 AG055426-01
  • USF Principal Investigator:  Theresa Chisolm PhD
  • ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03243422 

ACHIEVE HIFU – Hearing Intervention Follow-Up Study, Randomized Trial of Telehealth vs. Conventional Hearing Care Delivery in the ACHIEVE Study with current hearing aid users  

  • Multi-site randomized trial comparing conventional in-person hearing health care (HHC) versus in-person HHC plus telehealth audiology sessions among existing hearing aid users. Participants will be recruited from the ongoing Aging & Cognitive Health Evaluation in Elders (ACHIEVE) randomized trial in which the investigators recruited 977 adults ages 70-84 with untreated mild-to-moderate hearing loss from January 2018 to October 2019 who were randomized to a hearing intervention (i.e., conventional clinic-based delivery of hearing services and technologies) versus a successful aging education control intervention (i.e., one-on-one sessions with a health educator on topics important for healthy aging). From 2021-2022, as participants in the hearing intervention group (fixed sample, n=490) complete the pre-specified three years of follow-up in the ACHIEVE trial, the investigators will recruit these existing hearing aid users and randomize the participants 1:1 to receive continued conventional clinic-based delivery of hearing care services versus a model that incorporates telehealth. Accounting for loss to follow-up and death, the investigators conservatively estimate that n=400 participants currently in the hearing intervention group will be recruited into this two-year follow-up study. 
  • NIH/NIDCD 1 R01 DC019408-01 
  • USF Principal investigator: Victoria Sanchez AuD PhD 
  • Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT05070429

ACHIEVE SAFU – Successful Aging Group Follow-Up Study, Randomized Trial of Telehealth vs. Conventional Hearing Care Delivery in the ACHIEVE Study with new hearing aid users  

  • Multi-site randomized trial comparing conventional in-person hearing health care (HHC) versus in-person HHC plus telehealth audiology sessions among new hearing aid users. Participants will be recruited from the ongoing Aging & Cognitive Health Evaluation in Elders (ACHIEVE) randomized trial in which the investigators recruited 977 adults ages 70-84 with untreated mild-to-moderate hearing loss from January 2018 to October 2019 who were randomized to a hearing intervention (i.e., conventional clinic-based delivery of hearing services and technologies) versus a successful aging education control intervention (i.e., one-on-one sessions with a health educator on topics important for healthy aging). From 2021-2022, as participants in the successful aging group (fixed sample, n=487) complete the pre-specified three years of follow-up in the ACHIEVE trial, the investigators will recruit these new hearing aid users and randomize the participants 1:1 to receive continued conventional clinic-based delivery of hearing care services versus a model that incorporates telehealth. Accounting for loss to follow-up and death, the investigators conservatively estimate that n=390 participants currently in the hearing intervention group will be recruited into this two-year follow-up study. 
  • NIH/NIDCD 1 R01 DC019408-01 
  • USF Principal investigator: Victoria Sanchez AuD PhD 
  • Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT05070429 

ACHIEVE BHFU – 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 
  • USF Principal Investigator: Victoria Sanchez AuD PhD  
  • Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT05532657 

ACHIEVE EARLHI – 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  

  • 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. This hypothesis will be tested with an intent- to-treat approach comparing the hearing intervention and comparator arms. Aim 1 is to compare change in cognitive performance measured with the Alzheimer’s Disease Cooperative Study Preclinical Alzheimer Cognitive Composite (ADCS-PACC; 1º outcome) and by domain-specific cognitive testing on ADCS-PACC components (0, 6, 12 months). Aim 2 is to compare change in social engagement measured by activity participation (1º outcome) and network size/support (at 0, 6, 12 months). Aim 3 is to compare changes in brain organization/connectivity using task (visual task, auditory regions of interest,1º outcome) and resting-state fMRI, and diffusion-weighted structural connectivity (at 0, 12 months). We will explore whether social engagement and brain organization/connectivity mediate the effects of the intervention on cognitive outcomes. 
  • NIH/NCDID 1R01AG075083-01A1 
  • USF Principal Investigator: Victoria Sanchez, AuD PhD  
  • Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT05532657 

Development and Assessment of Spanish-Language Toolkit for Hearing Loss Self-Management  

  • 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