When I was obtaining my doctorate in audiology, I started noticing some telltale signs of hearing loss when talking to my grandmother.

We can now treat otoferlin-related hearing loss. In the next 10 years, we will continue to reach more groups with specific causes of hearing loss—momentum that will help accelerate the process for everyone.

My firsthand experience with hearing, speech, and language development challenges, both personally and as a parent, helped shape my writing.

Our information is based on evidence-based research studies and scholarly articles that support the adverse effects of both intense and chronic high and low frequency noises on our hearing. 

There has been a lot of news lately—in the hearing health space—that we want to highlight, from dementia research to ways to alleviate motion sickness and improve speech comprehension.

The brain may help regulate the ear’s sensitivity to sound and compensate for hearing loss by sending signals to the cochlea, a structure in the inner ear. This discovery could pave the way for new treatments for challenging hearing disorders such as hyperacusis and tinnitus.

As a clinician and university professor, I’ve worked with hundreds of people who hesitated to seek help—not because they couldn’t afford it, or didn’t have access to care, but because doing so meant admitting something they weren’t ready to accept: that something fundamental had changed.

This indicates an extended timeline of auditory development in children, which has exciting scientific and clinical implications.

These findings provide essential insights into hearing loss, related perceptions, and strategies to enhance awareness and promote conversations about hearing health.

The findings suggest that blast injuries cause excessive activation of PARP1, which disrupts the brain’s natural ability to manage stress and inflammation. This reduces the activity of sirtuins, which help regulate cell repair and stress responses.

After the marriage he confided to my mom that he had developed a mild to moderate sound intolerance from frequent loud exposures in his construction job, from bulldozers, claw hammers, jackhammers, etc.

George Arthur Gates, M.D., the inaugural medical director of Hearing Health Foundation’s Hearing Restoration Project (HRP), passed away on February 8, 2025.

In audiology, we describe listening environments using the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). The signal is what you want to hear—like your conversation partner—and noise is everything you don’t want to hear.

As someone hard of hearing, I intimately understand the challenges of a world not always designed for me. This drives my mission to advocate for better access and representation.

While significant challenges remain, ongoing efforts in genetic research, immunology, and clinical trials offer hope for better management and potential cures for Ménière’s disease in the future.

Because of the increased network depth, upscaled input resolution, and the ability to perform well in a limited data setting, our new imaging model aided by machine learning outperformed previous state-of-the-art models predicting cochlear implant success outcomes.

Even though I may not hear every note perfectly, playing in a band has been a powerful experience. I connect with music not just through the sound of my trumpet but through feeling, vibration, and the very essence of music itself. 

As always we are so thrilled to meet and catch up with our funded scientists, past and present, at this important research conference.

“Mara Hears in Style” is the book I wish my three children had when they were young and newly diagnosed with hearing loss. I wrote the book so that children who wear hearing aids will see themselves in a book and be seen, but I also wanted Mara's character to be relatable to all children.

Despite challenges, the potential of machine learning to improve cochlear implant outcomes is clear. By refining models, improving data quality, and addressing ethical concerns, we can move toward a future where CIs are more personalized and effective. 

The impact of noise on hearing depends on both volume and duration. The louder the noise, the faster it can cause damage.

This research shows that it is possible to design gene therapies for the ear that are carefully targeted at supporting cells, an essential first step in applying targeted gene therapies to treat hearing loss in humans.

Our friends at Help America Hear want to share that their high school scholarship competition is open for high school seniors with hearing loss using hearing aids, cochlear implants, or bone anchored hearing aids. The essay application is due March 30.

One cost assessment method that has been increasingly used in medical literature is called “time-driven activity-based costing.” TDABC allows for a detailed step-by-step analysis of a process and its costs, which helps identify opportunities for reducing unnecessary costs and streamlining the process. 

In the United States, assistive listening systems are mandated by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to give people with hearing loss the clarity that is impossible to receive with hearing instruments alone. 

Sound hypersensitivity disorders are conditions that disrupt a person’s ability to participate in normal daily activities due to physical discomfort, emotional distress, or excessive fear triggered by everyday sounds.

In 2018, while serving time in a New York prison, I committed to a path of self-reinvention and education. Despite the challenges of living with genetic disorders, a speech impediment, and a history of adversity, I made the decision to change my life by learning.

If you have a disability that prevents you from working, Social Security can help. Here's how.

As parents, the sooner we acknowledge that the situation feels tough or overwhelming—and accept that it’s okay not to have all the answers—the sooner we can come to terms with the world of hearing loss and embrace it.

New research reveals the unique patterns of gene expression in specific neurons in the brain that process the signals of sound and enable communication.