Official websites use .gov

A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS

A lock ( 🔒 ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Need Help

AUDIOLOGICAL REHABILITATION OF CHILDREN WITH UNILATERAL HEARING LOSS

Award Number: R01DC023371
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DEAFNESS AND OTHER COMMUNICATION DISORDERS
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 07/01/2026
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 06/30/2031

Group Awards By:

View Award Description

AUDIOLOGICAL REHABILITATION OF CHILDREN WITH UNILATERAL HEARING LOSS - PROJECT/SUMMARY ABSTRACT More than 5 million children in the United States have hearing loss in one ear, known as unilateral hearing loss (UHL). The primary consequence of UHL is reduced spatial hearing, which is crucial for communication and functioning in everyday listening conditions. Children with UHL (CUHL) are at risk for delays in language and academic outcomes compared to peers with normal hearing in both ears. However, there are large individual differences in developmental outcomes that cannot be explained by the degree of hearing loss in the affected ear. CUHL also have a wide range of spatial hearing abilities, and there is currently limited evidence to link individual differences in spatial hearing to the wide range of developmental outcomes that are observed in CUHL. The lack of predictable patterns of risk for CUHL leads to inconsistent recommendations for audiological intervention or intervention that commences only after a child demonstrates fails to progress in language or academic outcomes. Audiologists have the option to improve spatial hearing in CUHL through fitting a hearing aid on the affected ear, but hearing aids are often not provided or are only provided at later ages, even when UHL is identified in the first few months of life. The lack of consistent practices around provision of hearing aids for CUHL is due to limited evidence that hearing aids can support binaural processing in CUHL. This project seeks to provide mechanistic evidence to support earlier and more timely intervention for CUHL. We will use a metric referred to as auditory dosage to quantify auditory input to the affected ear based on aided and unaided speech audibility and consistency of hearing aid use. We anticipate auditory dosage is the primary predictor of individual differences in outcomes for CUHL. The core hypothesis of the proposal is that CUHL who have higher auditory dosage in their affected ear will have better spatial hearing, which in turn leads to better language and academic outcomes than peers with lower auditory dosage in their affected ear. Experiments will combine behavioral and neuroimaging measures of spatial hearing with and without amplification to assess how auditory dosage in the affected ear influences spatial hearing, language, and academic outcomes in CUHL. In Aim 1, we will analyze the effects of hearing aid distortion and auditory dosage on behavioral measures of spatial hearing with and without amplification. In Aim 2, structural and functional neuroimaging, including magnetoencephalography and magnetic resonance imaging, will be used to assess the impact of auditory dosage on spatial hearing in CUHL. Aim 3 uses an accelerated longitudinal design to assess the mediating effects of spatial hearing on the association between hearing aid distortion and auditory dosage and language and academic outcomes in CUHL. These experiments will provide mechanistic evidence to help guide decisions about audiological intervention for CUHL and lead to individualized interventions to improve spatial hearing, language, and academic outcomes for CUHL.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2026 ( Subtotal = $706,494 )
2026	2026	FATHER FLANAGAN'S BOYS' HOME	14100 CRAWFORD ST	BOYS TOWN	NE	68010	DOUGLAS	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	000	1	6/30/2026	NEW	$706,494
														Subtotal = $706,494

Grand Total All Awards = $706,494

Top

All Categories

About

Search

Reports

Data Submission

Award Information

AUDIOLOGICAL REHABILITATION OF CHILDREN WITH UNILATERAL HEARING LOSS

Award Number: R01DC023371

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DEAFNESS AND OTHER COMMUNICATION DISORDERS

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 07/01/2026

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 06/30/2031

Federal Websites

Department of Health & Human Services

HHS Operating Divisions

HHS Staff Divisions

Download A Document Viewer