CHEARS: Conservation of Hearing Study
What is CHEARS?
We are a research team of physicians, clinical investigators, and audiologists studying the epidemiology of ear and hearing disorders, including acquired hearing loss and tinnitus. Our research focuses on identifying potentially modifiable risk factors for hearing loss and for tinnitus, and also on the influence of hearing loss or tinnitus on other health outcomes and quality of life. Our research is supported by the National Institute for Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), international foundations, such as Action on Hearing Loss (AHL)/Royal National Institute of Deaf People (RNID), and private philanthropy. Most of our work is based on data collected from three major ongoing cohort studies that include over 250,000 participants: the Nurses' Health Study I (NHS I), the Nurses' Health Study II (NHS II) and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (HPFS). We examine the associations between a number of medical, dietary, and lifestyle factors and hearing loss and tinnitus. We collect information from Hearing Study Supplemental Questionnaires and, in a subset of NHS II participants, from audiologic assessments (hearing tests) performed by certified clinical audiologists. We are also investigating methods for our participants to self-administer hearing tests at home. Our goal is for as many participants as possible to be able to test their hearing at home, and to test their hearing at regular intervals over time so that we can examine longitudinal changes in hearing that may occur over time.
We are a research team of physicians, clinical investigators, and audiologists studying the epidemiology of ear and hearing disorders, including acquired hearing loss and tinnitus. Our research focuses on identifying potentially modifiable risk factors for hearing loss and for tinnitus, and also on the influence of hearing loss or tinnitus on other health outcomes and quality of life. Our research is supported by the National Institute for Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), international foundations, such as Action on Hearing Loss (AHL)/Royal National Institute of Deaf People (RNID), and private philanthropy. Most of our work is based on data collected from three major ongoing cohort studies that include over 250,000 participants: the Nurses' Health Study I (NHS I), the Nurses' Health Study II (NHS II) and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (HPFS). We examine the associations between a number of medical, dietary, and lifestyle factors and hearing loss and tinnitus. We collect information from Hearing Study Supplemental Questionnaires and, in a subset of NHS II participants, from audiologic assessments (hearing tests) performed by certified clinical audiologists. We are also investigating methods for our participants to self-administer hearing tests at home. Our goal is for as many participants as possible to be able to test their hearing at home, and to test their hearing at regular intervals over time so that we can examine longitudinal changes in hearing that may occur over time.