Management of Age-Related Auditory Decline and Early Warning of Its Co-occurring Dementia (AHEAD)

May 20, 2026 updated by: Shiming Yang, PhD, Chinese PLA General Hospital

Against the backdrop of global population aging, age-related hearing loss (ARHL) has reached epidemic proportions and is increasingly recognized as an independent risk factor for cognitive decline and other major neurodegenerative diseases. This study aims to systematically develop an integrated framework for the early warning, precise assessment, and intervention management of ARHL.

Using a national multicenter design, the project will establish a prospective cohort of more than 3,000 older adults. We will integrate multimodal data including audiological tests, cognitive function assessments, and blood biomarkers, and employ artificial intelligence and unsupervised machine learning methods to address critical bottlenecks in the field: the unclear mechanistic link between ARHL and cognitive decline, and the lack of validated predictive tools.

Specifically, this study will: (1) develop data-driven clinical classification criteria for ARHL; (2) create a personalized "Hearing Health Clock" predictive model; (3) identify minimally invasive blood biomarkers for early detection of cognitive impairment; and (4) formulate a multidimensional early dementia screening program suitable for community-wide implementation. The findings will provide scientific evidence and practical tools for the prevention and control of hearing and cognitive health risks in older adults in China.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

3000

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Locations

  • China
    • Beijing Municipality
      • Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China, 100048
        • The 6th Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital
        • Contact:

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

This study enrolls community-dwelling adults aged 60 years and older from multiple medical centers in China. All participants are permanent local residents with annual residence of no less than 9 months, clear consciousness, and able to cooperate with standardized audiological examinations, cognitive function assessments, questionnaire surveys and blood sample collection.

A total of more than 3,000 older adults will be recruited for the cross-sectional baseline survey. Among them, a sub-cohort of no fewer than 150 older adults with sensorineural hearing loss, bilaterally symmetric auditory thresholds without middle ear disorders, and no non-age-related causes of hearing impairment will be included for 3-year annual longitudinal follow-up.

Individuals with inability to complete pure-tone audiometry, established neurological diseases, severe organ dysfunction, advanced malignant tumor with short life expectancy, or any other inappropriate conditions assessed by investigators are exclud

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Aged 60 years or older.
  2. Clear consciousness and able to cooperate with all study assessments and examinations.
  3. Permanent local residents who have lived in the area for at least 9 months per year and are willing to complete long-term follow-up.

long-term follow-up：

  1. Diagnosis of sensorineural hearing loss.
  2. Bilaterally symmetric hearing with air conduction threshold difference ≤15 dB at 0.5 kHz, 1 kHz, 2 kHz and 4 kHz between two ears.
  3. Hearing loss not caused by non-age-related factors.

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Unable to complete pure-tone audiometry and other auditory examinations. History of central nervous system diseases, including Parkinson's disease, stroke, intracranial tumor or brain trauma.
  2. Severe uncontrolled systemic diseases (cardiac, pulmonary, hepatic, renal insufficiency) or advanced malignant tumor with expected survival less than 3 years.
  3. Any other condition judged by the investigator inappropriate for study enrollment.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Intervention / Treatment
Community-Dwelling Older Adults Group
Older adults with bilaterally symmetric hearing and no middle ear abnormalities
Other: Not applicable- observational study
Not applicable-observational study

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Incidence of dementia and cognitive decline, and progression of age-related auditory decline in community-dwelling older adults
Time Frame: 3 years from baseline enrollment
To determine the 3-year cumulative incidence of all-cause dementia and cognitive decline, and to assess the progression rate of age-related auditory decline among community-dwelling older adults aged 60 years and above. Based on a multicenter prospective cohort of more than 3000 participants, this primary outcome will clarify the longitudinal association between the deterioration of auditory function and subsequent cognitive impairment and dementia risk, through standardized audiological testing and repeated cognitive function assessment at regular follow-up visits.
3 years from baseline enrollment

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Chinese PLA General Hospital

Collaborators

Peking University People's Hospital
Xuanwu Hospital, Beijing
Beijing Youyi Hospital

Investigators

  • Study Chair: Shiming Yang, The Medical Ethics Committee of the 6th Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

May 25, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

December 31, 2028

Study Completion (Estimated)

December 31, 2028

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

May 20, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 20, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

May 27, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 27, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 20, 2026

Last Verified

May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • CFH 2026-1-5071 (Other Grant/Funding Number: Capital's Funds for Health Improvement and Research)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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