Improving Hearing Health for bilingual adults through better patient-reported outcomes
Official title: Improving Interpretation of Hearing- Related Patient Reported Outcomes for Bilingual Adults
Funded at Henry M. Jackson Fdn for the Adv Mil/med · NIH-11382463 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A short, plain-language study will help bilingual adults understand and report how hearing affects them, so clinicians can tailor care.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R21 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Henry M. Jackson Fdn for the Adv Mil/med NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Bethesda, United States) |
| Project start | August 1, 2024 |
| Project end | July 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $150,617 |
| NIH project number | 5R21DC021516-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11382463 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults who speak more than one language and who are undergoing hearing assessments.
✕Less likely to help
Adults who are monolingual or who don’t have hearing concerns may not directly benefit from the findings.
What this research studies
This project focuses on how bilingual adults experience hearing problems and how they report them in everyday life. Researchers will look at how language history and use might change patient-reported outcomes, especially for listening in noisy settings. The study will gather information from adults who use more than one language to better interpret hearing-related questions. Findings could lead to better tools for clinicians to capture patients’ experiences accurately.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the study could improve how doctors understand and treat hearing problems in bilingual adults by using more accurate patient reports.
How similar studies have gone: Preliminary work suggests bilinguals may have different subjective experiences of hearing loss, indicating potential for improved PRO tools, but larger validation is needed.
Where this research is happening
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Henry M. Jackson Fdn for the Adv Mil/med
Bethesda, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Bieber, Rebecca — Henry M. Jackson Fdn for the Adv Mil/med
- Study coordinator: Bieber, Rebecca
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.