Los pacientes con hiperacusia dolorosa no están sobreprotegiendo sus oídos. Ellos están tratando de sobrevivir. El sonido en realidad activa los receptores del dolor, y eso puede provocar reacciones catastróficas. Sin una suficiente protección, ellos pueden fácilmente empeorar.
What I Have Learned From My Hyperacusis Patients
Pain hyperacusis patients are not overprotecting their ears. They are trying to survive. Sound is actually activating pain receptors, and it can cause catastrophic reactions. As an audiologist, I now know it’s wrong to tell pain hyperacusis patients to stop wearing earplugs or earmuffs or to initiate sound therapy.
Recent Research From ERG Alumni
The effect an Emerging Research Grant has on the hearing and balance fields is evident by the discoveries our funded researchers continue to make. Here are recent highlights by ERG alumni, each getting a boost at the start of their career with a grant from HHF.
Emerging Research Grants: Call for Applications
The ERG program is a competitive process that awards grants to only the most promising investigators. Recipients are exceptionally well-positioned to win funding from major federal funders, with every $1 invested in ERG leading to an average of $56 in future funding.
Meet the 2024 Emerging Research Grants Scientists
As of this year, our general hearing health grants have been renamed Elizabeth M. Keithley, Ph.D. Early Stage Investigator Awards in recognition of Keithley’s impact on the field and long service to HHF, and the awards’ focus on supporting the next generation.
Impact 2023
Insights Into Sound Processing in the Brain
The central auditory system is classically thought of as an ascending system, where acoustic information is processed across a step-by-step hierarchy of increasingly complex circuits. However, this model is simplistic because we know that higher order brain regions such as the auditory cortex also send descending projections back to “lower” circuits.
In Autism Spectrum Disorder, Brain Connections Vary When Processing Speech
These findings suggest that in ASD, the mechanisms involved in processing speech, which encompass both the cerebrum and cerebellum, are influenced by atypical attention patterns, possibly stemming from differences in how the cerebellum manages timing and predicts auditory events.
A Historical Review of Ménière’s Disease Treatments
Despite lacking evidence for sympathetic overactivation in Ménière's disease, surgeons eagerly adopted sympathectomies, and later betahistine, and the latter is still commonly used outside the U.S. as treatment.
Understanding Inner Ear Fluid Buildup in Ménière’s Disease
Fluid buildup in the saccule and cochlear duct might be due to increased pressure, while the utricle might be better protected due to its thicker walls and functioning valve. This points to an inverse relationship between membrane thickness and fluid buildup, helping us better understand how fluid buildup occurs in Ménière's disease.