I wanted to create a story that not only celebrated the beauty of differences but also conveyed the importance of empathy and understanding. My heart was set on crafting a tale that could empower children with hearing loss while also educating their peers about the significance of inclusivity. 

I’d like to share four important breakthroughs in hearing research over the past year, and how each also connects back to Hearing Health Foundation, to varying degrees. These major advances offer hope for how we might improve or restore hearing and, by extension, bring a bit more of that wonderful world into everyone’s lives.

Their experiments revealed a class of DNA control elements known as “enhancers” that, after injury, amplify the production of a protein called ATOH1, which in turn induces a suite of genes required to make sensory cells of the inner ear.

To cope, I use meditation to try to keep myself grounded, forget about yesterday, forget about tomorrow, and try to live each moment, the best I can. So when my head hits the pillow each night, the day was a success. 

Contact your insurance plan directly to understand your coverage and potential hearing aid benefits, and other tips to make hearing aids more affordable.

Today, we want to extend a heartfelt THANK YOU to you and all our supporters who inspire us to push for scientific advancements. 

I felt like cookies would be a fun, relatable way to show that even though we’re different, we all have value.

These findings support the idea that comprehension challenges can stem from cognitive limitations besides language structure. For educators and clinicians, this suggests that sentence comprehension measures can provide insights into children’s cognitive strengths and areas that need support. 

I do feel like something is lost when older adults are put into what feels like isolation chambers due to our hearing ability. We have something unique to contribute from the perspective of our years, and I would like us to find a way as a society to allow us to do that.   

I turned my gaze inward instead of outwardly to seek answers and I began taking better care of myself, seeking personal growth opportunities, reconnecting to aspects of life that I loved, learning meditation, and seeking alternative therapies for my sudden hearing loss.

The VA Hearing Disability Calculator is designed to help veterans determine their potential VA disability rating for hearing loss.

Our results suggest that mature cochlear supporting cells can be reprogrammed into sensory hair cells, providing a possible target for hair cell regeneration in mammals.

For children with hearing loss and their families, Halloween traditions can be adjusted to make sure everyone enjoys a comfortable experience. Here are a few tips to help make the holiday fun and safe.

Cost remains one of the most significant barriers to hearing aid uptake. At an average price of $4,000 a pair, hearing aids are prohibitive to many who need them. But what exactly determines hearing aid price, and why is there such a wide range?

The Emerging Research Grants program is a competitive process that awards grants to only the most promising investigators. Recipients are exceptionally well-positioned to secure subsequent funding from major federal funders. In fact, ERG awardees (2002–present) have gone on to be awarded an average of $59 in federal research funding for every dollar of their ERG grant.

Individuals with hidden hearing loss may have “normal” hearing on a typical audiogram but still struggle to comprehend speech, especially in noisy environments like crowded restaurants.

Hearing loss is definitely a challenge. It can separate us from hearing conversations, making us feel disconnected. But we try our best to do what’s necessary for our best hearing experience.

The symposium aims to spur collaborative thinking and projects among Ménière’s disease researchers and clinicians to stimulate advances in better understanding and treating Ménière's disease

The complicated nature of composing when I have hearing damage forms the back story for "Mt. Mundane," making it a deeply reflective journey that symbolizes the challenge of coming to terms with the permanent, ceaseless tinnitus that is my reality.

Hearing Health Foundation’s mission to fund innovative, groundbreaking hearing and balance science is only possible because of you. We are grateful for the support of our community.

If you have a hearing loss, get help. Get hearing aids. Your life will be so much better because of it. I know that, because mine is.

Hearing Health Foundation is thrilled to launch its newest set of PSAs, “Protect Your Ears,” as part of our ongoing Keep Listening prevention campaign, whose overall goal is to create a culture shift around how we think about healthy hearing.

Given the need for platforms that provide efficient, reproducible, and reliable outcome measurements, the HRP has created a new, fourth working group this year: Screening.

Congratulations to the 14 scientists awarded Emerging Research Grants for 2025.

These findings mean lower-frequency sounds may help older adults better understand complex sound environments. This may be useful for designing better hearing aids or other devices to help older people hear more clearly.

I love teaching students about cochlear implant technology. The look on their faces when things would “click” or they would solve a puzzle continues to inspire me. 

Our results are consistent with the theory that people rely on auditory information to coordinate the motor control of their vocal tract in service to speech production and opens up many new, critically important questions about people with congenital auditory deficits. 

I have bilateral Ménière’s disease and at times have suffered greatly from the vertigo attacks and subsequent symptoms afterward, so HHF’s mission is near and dear to my heart and I’d like to contribute a little here and there.

These findings show that even with appropriate amplification via hearing aids, children with hearing loss still have trouble processing certain aspects of sound, particularly the basic pitch of voices. These objectively measurable brain responses may explain why children with hearing loss struggle more in noisy or echoey environments.

This has been a big challenge for me, due to my pain hyperacusis and tinnitus, but now I feel very happy to have been able to compose for and participate in performances once again.