NIDCD-Funded Research Projects on Accessible and Affordable Hearing Health Care

Working with scientists and clinical researchers throughout the United States, NIDCD supports clinical and translational research to develop and test novel strategies to overcome barriers to care and to improve the quality of life for the millions of adults with hearing loss.

As of January 2025, NIDCD supports 16 active research projects (below) on accessible and affordable hearing health care (AAHHC). We also list (below, second chart) completed projects on accessible and affordable hearing health care. The projects are listed alphabetically by the last name of the principal investigator (PI). In some cases, a project might begin under one type of grant mechanism and continue under another mechanism, with the same project name. Completed projects that are continuing under a different funding mechanism are marked with an asterisk(*).

Active Projects: Accessible and Affordable Hearing Health Care

PI Name (Contact)	PI Institution Name	Institution Location	Project Title	Project Number
Bush, Matthew Lee	University of Kentucky	Lexington, KY	Hearing Healthcare Assessment in Rural Communities (HHARC)	R21DC019602
Hay-McCutcheon, Marcia Jean	University of Alabama	Tuscaloosa, AL	Improving Access and Affordability of Adult Hearing Healthcare: Effectiveness of Community-based Interventions in West Central and South Alabama	R33DC019073
Hay-McCutcheon, Marcia Jean	University of Alabama	Tuscaloosa, AL	Increasing Access to Hearing Healthcare: An Assessment of Pharmacy Technician Educational Training for the Provision of Over-the-Counter Hearing Aids in Rural Alabama and Mississippi Pharmacies	R21DC022070
Kidd, Gary R	Communication Disorders Technology, Inc	Bloomington, IN	Efficient Estimation of Auditory Sensitivity and Cognitive Status Using Spoken-Digit Tests	R33DC017967
Lin, Frank R	Johns Hopkins University	Baltimore, MD	Randomized Trial of Telehealth vs Conventional Hearing Care Delivery in the ACHIEVE Study	R01DC019408
Mamo, Sara K	University of Massachusetts Amherst	Hadley, MA	Communication Challenges and Barriers to Hearing Care for Older Bilingual Latinx Adults	R21DC020790
Manchaiah, Vinaya	University of Colorado	Denver, CO	Emerging Service Delivery Models for Over-the-Counter Hearing Aids: A Hybrid Effectiveness-Implementation Trial	R01DC021653
Moore, David	Cincinnati Childrens Hosp Med Ctr	Cincinnati, OH	Mobile Technologies for Delivering Hearing Care Through Community Health Workers	R21DC019598
Nieman, Carrie L	Johns Hopkins University	Baltimore, MD	Extending Capacity for Affordable, Accessible Hearing Care through Peer Mentorship	R21DC020149
Nieman, Carrie L*	Johns Hopkins University	Baltimore, MD	K-HEARS: Hearing Health Equity through Accessible Research and Solutions for Korean Americans	R01DC019686
Pavlovic, Caslav Vojislav	Batandcat, Inc.	Palo Alto, CA	Portable Hearing Laboratory	R44DC016247
Pesko, Michael	Georgia State University	Atlanta, GA	Effect of Hearing Aid Insurance Coverage Requirements for Adults on Utilization	R01DC019661
Shen, Yi	University of Washington	Seatte, WA	Individualized Assessment and Prediction of Speech-Recognition Performance in Adults with Age-Related Hearing Loss	R01DC017988
Singh, Jasleen	Northwestern University	Chicago, IL	HearEase: A Candidacy Tool for Over-the-Counter Hearing Aids	R21DC021767
Wang, Molin	Harvard School of Public Health	Boston, MA	What Causes Hearing Loss: Advancing the Methods	R01DC017717
Wu, Yu-Hsiang	University of Iowa	Iowa City, IA	Cost-Effective Hearing Aid Delivery Models: Outcomes, Value, and Candidacy	R01DC015997

Completed Projects: Accessible and Affordable Hearing Health Care

PI Name (Contact)	PI Institution Name	Institution Location	Project Title	Project Number
Arnold, Michelle Leigh	University of South Florida	Tampa, FL	Development and Assessment of a Spanish-Language Toolkit for Hearing Loss Self-Management	R21DC018655
Clavier, Odile H	Creare, LLC	Hanover, NH	Wireless and Noise Attenuating Headset for Automated Hearing Screening	R43DC012861
Clavier, Odile H	Creare, LLC	Hanover, NH	Wireless and Noise Attenuating Headset for Automated Hearing Screening	R44DC012861
Clavier, Odile H	Creare, LLC	Hanover, NH	Low-Cost User-Friendly Otoacoustic Emissions Probe	R43DC014007
Clavier, Odile H	Creare, LLC	Hanover, NH	Low-Cost User-Friendly Otoacoustic Emissions Probe	R44DC014007
Clavier, Odile H	Creare, LLC	Hanover, NH	Diagnostic Hearing Test System for Telehealth in Underserved Communities	R44DC017930
Coco, Laura Susan	University of Arizona	Tucson, AZ	Community Health Workers and Teleaudiology as a Culturally-Relevant Approach to Improving Access to Hearing Health Care	F32DC017081
Condon, John Paul	Innovative Design Labs, Inc.	Minneapolis, MN	A System and Process to Improve the Satisfaction with Hearing Health Products	R44DC019072
Cox, Robyn Masterton	University of Memphis	Memphis, TN	Effectiveness of Basic and Premium Hearing Aid Features for Older Adults	R01DC011550
Day, Robert	National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine	Washington, DC	Meaningful Outcome Measures in Adult Hearing Health Care	N01OD263201800029I
Delgado, Rafael E	Intelligent Hearing Systems	Miami, FL	Insert Earphones with Integrated In-Ear Calibration	R43DC016567
Dhar, Sumitrajit	Northwestern University	Evanston, IL	Can Consumers and Audiologists Detect Ear Disease Prior to Hearing Aid Use?	R21DC013115
Dhar, Sumitrajit	Northwestern University	Evanston, IL	Can Consumers and Audiologists Detect Ear Disease Prior to Hearing Aid Use?	R33DC013115
Eberhardt, Silvio Peter	Seehear, LLC	Arlington, VA	Speech Perception Training: Advanced Scoring and Feedback Methods	R43DC015418
Eberhardt, Silvio Peter	Seehear, LLC	Arlington, VA	Speech Perception Training: Advanced Scoring and Feedback Methods	R44DC015418
Feeney, Martin Patrick	Oregon Health & Science University	Portland, OR	Community-Based Kiosks for Hearing Screening and Education	R21DC011769
Feeney, Martin Patrick	Oregon Health & Science University	Portland, OR	Community-Based Kiosks for Hearing Screening and Education	R33DC011769
Francis, Howard W	Duke University	Durham, NC	Addressing Barriers to Adult Hearing Healthcare	R33DC015003
Havey, Gary D	Advanced Medical Electronics Corporation	Maple Grove, MN	Gaze Steered Microphone Array for Understanding Speech in Noisy Areas	R44DC013216
Humes, Larry E	Indiana University Bloomington	Bloomington, IN	Efficacy of a Low-Cost Hearing Aid and Comparison of Service-Delivery Models	R01DC011771
Kajiyama, Bruno	Photozig, Inc.	Moffett Field, CA	Social Game to Improve Hearing Health Care Outcomes	R44DC013114
Krause, Lee Stanley	Securboration, Inc.	Melbourne, FL	Individualized Signal Processing Strategy to Reduce Hearing Health Care Cost/Disp	R43DC013623
Levitt, Harry Nmi	Advanced Hearing Concepts, Inc.	Bodega Bay, CA	Realistic Hearing-Aid Outcome Measures	R01DC012305
Levitt, Harry Nmi	Advanced Hearing Concepts, Inc.	Bodega Bay, CA	Computer-Based Virtual Hearing Aid	R24DC011513
Levitt, Harry Nmi	Advanced Hearing Concepts, Inc.	Bodega Bay, CA	In-Home Hearing-Aid Fitting, Evaluation, and Training	R43DC012202
Lin, Frank R	Johns Hopkins University	Baltimore, MD	Implementing a Community Health Worker Model for Providing Hearing Healthcare Services to Older Adults	R21DC015062
Lin, Frank R	Johns Hopkins University	Baltimore, MD	Implementing a Community Health Worker Model for Providing Hearing Healthcare Services to Older Adults	R33DC015062
Mackersie, Carol L	San Diego State University	San Diego, CA	Self Fitting of Amplification: Methodology and Candidacy	R21DC015046
Mackersie, Carol L	San Diego State University	San Diego, CA	Self Fitting of Amplification: Methodology and Candidacy	R33DC015046
Mamo, Sara K	University of Massachusetts Amherst	Hadley, MA	Speech understanding ability and communication intervention for persons with age-related hearing loss and mild cognitive impairment or dementia	K23DC016855
Marrone, Nicole L	University of Arizona	Tucson, AZ	Reducing Disparities in Access to Hearing Healthcare on the U.S.-Mexico Border	R21DC013681
Marrone, Nicole L	University of Arizona	Tucson, AZ	Reducing Disparities In Access To Hearing Healthcare on the U.S.-Mexico Border	R33DC013681
McClannahan, Katrina	Washington University	St. Louis, MO	Factors that Contribute to Hearing Handicap and Hearing Loss Treatment Decisions of Older Adults	K01DC017522
Molis, Michelle	Oregon Health & Science University	Portland, OR	Application of Health Behavior Models to Predict Hearing Healthcare Outcomes	R01DC013761
Moore, David	Cincinnati Childrens Hospital Medical Center	Cincinnati, OH	Smartphone Based Detection and Intervention for Hearing Loss in Low and Middle Income Countries	R21DC016241
Nelson, Peggy B	University of Minnesota	Minneapolis, MN	Improving Amplification Outcomes in Noise by Self-Directed Hearing Aid Fitting	R01DC013267
Nieman, Carrie L*	Johns Hopkins University	Baltimore, MD	K-HEARS: Hearing Health Equity through Accessible Research and Solutions for Korean Americans	R56DC019686
Norris, James A *	Creare, LLC	Hanover, NH	Diagnostic Hearing Test System for Telehealth in Underserved Communities	R43DC017930
Pavlovic, Caslav Vojislav	Batandcat, Inc.	Palo Alto, CA	Technology to Support Deployment of Intelligent Audio Devices	R44DC014030
Peters, Thomas Michael	University of Iowa	Iowa City, IA	Protecting Farm Workers' Hearing Through Personalized Automated Training	R21DC017022
Prakash, S R	Caraway Software, Inc.	Saratoga, CA	User-Driven Fitting of Hearing Aids and Other Assistive Hearing Devices	R43DC016251
Runge, Christina	Ascending Hearing Technologies, LLC	New Berlin, WI	Custom-Fit Personal Sound Amplification Smartphone Application	R41DC017939
Sabin, Andrew T	Bose Corporation	Framingham, MA	User-Centered Control of Hearing Aid Signal Processing	R44DC013093
Saunders, James E	Dartmouth College	Lebanon, NH	Mobile Smartphone Audiometry to Improve Hearing Outcomes in Nicaraguan Children	R21DC015133
Simpson, Ann-Catherin Nordbo	Medical University of South Carolina	Charleston, SC	Age-Related Hearing Loss: Health Services Utilization and Outcomes	R21DC014031
Souza, Pamela E	Northwestern University	Chicago, IL	Characterizing Variability in Hearing Aid Outcomes Among Older Adults	R01DC012289
Tremblay, Kelly	University of Washington	Seattle, WA	Linking SNR to Hearing Aid Success	R01DC012769
Tremblay, Kelly	University of Washington	Seattle, WA	Defining Universal Barriers and Incentives to Seeking Hearing Health Care	R21DC013161
Tremblay, Kelly	University of Washington	Seattle, WA	Defining Universal Barriers and Incentives to Seeking Hearing Health Care	R33DC013161
Tremblay, Kelly	University of Washington	Seattle, WA	N/A	R41DC017109
Tucci, Debara L	Duke University	Durham, NC	Addressing Barriers to Adult Hearing Healthcare	R21DC015003
Wallhagen, Margaret I	University of California, San Francisco	San Francisco, CA	Primary Care Intervention Promoting Hearing Health Care Service Access and Use	R21DC011510
Wallhagen, Margaret I	University of California, San Francisco	San Francisco, CA	Primary Care Intervention Promoting Hearing Health Care Service Access and Use	R33DC011510
Watson, Charles S	Communication Disorders Technology, Inc	Bloomington, IN	A National Screening Test for Hearing, Administered by Telephone	R44DC009719
Watson, Charles S *	Communication Disorders Technology, Inc	Bloomington, IN	Efficient Estimation of Auditory Sensitivity and Cognitive Status Using Spoken-Digit Tests	R21DC017967
Wu, Yu-Hsiang	University of Iowa	Iowa City, IA	Minimal Technologies for Hearing Aid Success in Elderly Adults	R03DC012551
Zazove, Philip	University of Michigan	Ann Arbor, MI	Early Audiology Referral in Primary Care	R21DC013678
Zazove, Philip	University of Michigan	Ann Arbor, MI	Early Audiology Referral in Primary Care	R33DC013678
Zurek, Patrick M	Sensimetrics Corporation	Malden, MA	Speech Enhancer for Group Conversation in Noise	R43DC017100

* This project continued under a different funding mechanism. See the corresponding active project listing for this Project Number.

Last Updated Date:

February 18, 2025