Research Areas

Effective hearing and communication are the foundation for nearly every aspect of physical and mental health. However, hearing is rarely the focus of public health research and interventions. The Cochlear Center for Hearing and Public Health aims to change this paradigm not only through research to better understand how hearing problems affect health, but by identifying and implementing viable and scalable solutions. Research at the Center spans areas including the impact of hearing loss in older adults on public health; developing and testing strategies to mitigate these effects; and helping to implement policies at the local, national and global levels to address hearing loss. This work bridges a variety of fields including otolaryngology, audiology, epidemiology, health economics, neuropsychology, cognitive neuroscience and biostatistics.

Research Area
Cognition/Brain Aging

Epidemiologic research over the past several years led by Center researchers has established the contribution of hearing loss to the risk of cognitive decline and dementia in older adults.

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Research Area
Health economic outcomes

Hearing loss has both direct and indirect economic implications for individuals and society.

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Epidemiology of hearing loss prevalence and risk factors

Recent epidemiologic research led by members of the Center has highlighted the substantial impact of hearing loss in society.

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Community-based solutions to hearing care provision 

The established model of hearing health care delivery in the U.S. and much of the world is based on clinic-based audiologic and hearing needs assessment.

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Enhancing patient-provider communication in health care settings

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine recognize optimal patient-provider communication as a key to improving health care outcomes.

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Investigating over-the-counter hearing technologies

Gold-standard hearing rehabilitative care typically comprises one-on-one sessions with an audiologist for auditory needs assessment, fitting and programming of hearing aids.

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