Hearing Health Blog Archive
Hearing Health Foundation (HHF) is currently accepting applications for 2026–2027 awards through our Emerging Research Grants program.
Many single-sided deafness patients perform perfectly on standard speech-in-quiet tests due to their healthy ear, a “ceiling effect” that masks the real-world challenges they face. We propose using more sensitive metrics that assess sound quality and music perception.
As one who inhabits the worlds of both hearing and deafness, I am amazed by what you likely take for granted—the gift of hearing. And I experience the benefits, the misfortunes, and the humor of not hearing.
Our mission to fund innovative, groundbreaking hearing and balance science is only possible because of you. We are grateful for the support of our community.
The legacy gift from the late Shirley Jean Lane launches the next phase for HHF’s planned giving efforts: a new matching challenge to inspire legacy commitments from our community.
Congratulations to the 14 scientists awarded Emerging Research Grants for 2026.
Whether you’re donating through your IRA, gifting appreciated stock, or using a donor-advised fund, your contribution to Hearing Health Foundation can make a meaningful difference.
Cochlear implants work differently from hearing aids. Instead of making sounds louder, they bypass the damaged parts of the inner ear and send signals directly to the brain, allowing individuals to perceive sound more clearly.
As we observe World Alzheimer’s Month each September, it’s a timely reminder that protecting our brain health starts long before memory problems arise.
This new computer model can serve as the bedrock not only to better understand how the middle ear vibrates during bone conduction but also to develop new diagnostics for middle ear conditions and inform the design of novel hearing devices.
Looking back over each grade when I felt embarrassed, I wish I could have told myself that even when people ask questions about the FM, by the next day they have usually forgotten about it. Most of the time I cared more than other people did.
Cochlear implants were never on our radar, and the topic arose what felt like out of the blue while talking to his audiologist who said hearing aids could no longer improve his ability to better understand speech.
There’s a lot of overlap between managing tinnitus and dealing with the challenges of aging. Socializing, paying active attention, learning new things, and physical activity are all things that can help with both.
Even within the d/Deaf and hard of hearing umbrella, our access needs and identities vary widely. That in-between space can feel like nowhere—not “hearing enough” for the hearing world, not “Deaf enough” for Deaf spaces.
Because the very small blood vessels in the inner ear can be narrowed by the presence of an increase in blood glucose, the function of the inner ear hair cells can be affected. The first symptom might be tinnitus or an inability to hear words clearly.
My focus is studying pathologies following noise overexposure. This includes noise-induced hearing loss and pain hyperacusis. I specifically look at how the immune system interacts with the neurons of the ear after noise.
Living without the sense of hearing may bring barriers, but it does not mean living without independence or success. Our role, as people with typical hearing, is to listen, support, and work to improve the systems that are built around us.
This study shows that a single variant in the Foxg1 gene can affect how the brain processes sounds and lead to a heightened sensitivity to noise.
At the time of his death, Hudspeth was pursuing new approaches to restoring hearing through hair cell regeneration, and his lab had recently published work demonstrating the first method for keeping a mammalian cochlea alive outside of the body—an innovation that will provide future researchers with an unprecedented means for studying the cochlea’s live biomechanics.
While the cochlear implant was mapped to set sound frequencies, I heard a soft, staticky noise. I later learned I was hearing a rain downpour and thunder coming from outside the clinic.
Research has not yet fully explained the mechanisms behind efficient hair cell regeneration in birds, but recent discoveries have sparked multiple promising research directions that might bring us closer to developing treatments for humans.
For someone with a hidden disability, being held to standards of behavior that you cannot meet simply because someone cannot see your disability is a constant challenge.
Multiple key guitars from Les Paul’s collection are in The Les Paul House of Sound. Hands-on activities guide visitors to explore the science of sound.
A recent study has confirmed what we always knew: Men don’t listen in the same way women do—but not for the reasons many of us think.
It’s ironic and puzzling that when going to hearing clinics, patients who need help with their hearing have to somehow hear and respond to staff.
Two people have the same audiogram results but one can follow conversations at a loud party, while the other feels completely lost and overwhelmed. We set out to examine why.
I had been a crewman on a destroyer and as I recall was never offered hearing protection during live firing. Naval guns are big and loud! After Covid I noticed difficulty understanding my patients, even with prescription hearing aids.
Before I discovered CART, I often felt left out, despite being physically present. This gap in awareness affects thousands of people. That’s why I speak up, because access delayed is opportunity denied.
My area of study is auditory neuroscience, and I’m especially passionate about how neuroscience can reveal the underlying mechanisms behind why hearing outcomes vary so much from person to person.