Global Collaborations
Center researchers are engaged in collaborations around the world focused on research and training of clinicians and researchers in Center mission areas.
Justin Golub at Columbia University on hearing and dementia/brain aging Einstein Aging Study to incorporate hearing testing
World Health Organization on the development of the World Report on Hearing
Peking University on hearing epidemiology (Under development)
Maryland Institute College of Art Center for Social Design for HEARS and ENHANCE intervention development
The University of Mississippi on the ACHIEVE study
The University of Minnesota on the ACHIEVE study
Wake Forest University on the ACHIEVE study
University of Pittsburgh on the development of the successful aging program for the ACHIEVE study
Maryland Institute College of Art Center for Social Design for HEARS and ENHANCE intervention development
The University of South Florida on the development of the hearing program for the ACHIEVE study
OptumLabs on studies of hearing loss impact Kevin Franck at MEEI on implementation of the ENHANCE intervention
Sara Mamo at University of. Massachusetts, Amherst on integration of hearing services into PACE and other group care settings
ACT study investigators on how peripheral and central auditory function relate to dementia/brain aging/brain pathology
Becky Powers on implementation of the HEARS intervention at the South Texas Veterans Administration
Rotterdam Study investigators on epidemiological studies of hearing, cognition, and brain aging
SergiCostafreda-Gonzalez and other UCL investigators on the TACT study
Baycrest Centre for Aging and Brain Health Innovation on implementation of the HEARS intervention in Toronto
Cath McMahon at Macquarie University on implementation of the ENHANCE intervention at Macquarie Hospital
Sichuan University under development
Researchers at the Cochlear Center are actively engaged in collaborations with other epidemiologic researchers to gather hearing data in several ongoing studies. These epidemiologic data will allow Center researchers to study critical questions pertaining to how hearing interacts with other health, lifestyle, and environmental factors to affect the functioning of older adults and other health outcomes.
Protocols for how hearing data can be efficiently collected are available here to use. The Center also provides small grants and expertise to help researchers with implementing hearing data collection in new or ongoing studies.
Studies where Center researchers are leading hearing data collection efforts include:
ARIC
Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study
The ARIC study is an ongoing, population-based prospective study of 15,792 men and women aged 45-64 years at baseline (1987-1989) from four U.S. communities. ARIC was designed to investigate the etiology and natural history of atherosclerosis, the etiology of clinical atherosclerotic diseases, and variation in cardiovascular risk factors, medical care and disease by race, gender, location, and date. Hearing data, including objective audiometry, speech in noise, comprehensive subjective measures and history of noise exposure, and history of hearing device use were collected in a sub-sample of participants between 2011 and 2013 and in all participants between 2017 and 2018.
BIOCARD
Biomarkers of Cognitive Decline Among Normal Individuals
The overarching goal of the BIOCARD Study is to identify biomarkers associated with progression from normal cognitive status to cognitive impairment or dementia, with a particular focus on Alzheimer's Disease. The domains of information collected as part of the study in the past include: cognitive testing, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), amyloid imaging (using PET-PiB) and blood specimens. In collaboration with core Center faculty, BIOCARD began collecting hearing data in 2016.
Baltimore ECA
Baltimore Epidemiologic Catchment Area (ECA) Study
The Baltimore ECA study began in 1981 collecting depressive and anxiety information in a representative sample of East Baltimore residents. Subsequent waves of data collection added sleep, cognitive, functional and biologic sample measures to the study. In 2017, Center researchers collaborated with ECA investigators to add hearing data collection including subjective hearing impairment, noise exposure history, hearing device use history and objective pure-tone audiometry from 250-8000Hz to the current wave of data collection.
BLSA
Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging
The BLSA has been ongoing since 1958 and is the longest-running study of aging in the U.S. The study is based at the National Institute on Aging, and participants are followed over the course of their lifetime with regular study visits at the NIA where extensive data on health and health measures are gathered. Hearing has been routinely measured in all BLSA participants since 2012 and was also previously gathered prior to 1994.