In addition to recent or current grantees, to underscore the lasting implications that basic science research can hold, scientists whose funding was a decade—or decades—ago cite HHF in new papers stemming from their grants.
Newly Identified Deafness Gene Makes the Ear More Vulnerable to Noise
This study provides evidence that TECTB is a novel human deafness gene. In addition, it reveals a gene–environment interaction in which the variant sensitizes the cochlea to noise trauma, leading to long‐term functional consequences.
Using a Computer Model to Understand the Brain’s Response to Sound
In the aging model, we explored neuronal alterations in the auditory brainstem and reproduced changes observed in aged gerbils. These results suggest that the model can help identify possible neural explanations for changes in hearing test results.
A Breakthrough Protocol for Generating Functional Human Auditory Neurons
The resulting SGN-like neurons matched the appearance, molecular structure, electrical behavior, and functional characteristics of SGN cells in vivo.
Age-Related Hearing Loss Limits Cue Use in Noise
How Does Sound Hurt?
This control experiment shows that the hearing organ must be intact for sound to produce pain-related behavior. This may seem obvious, but it’s important to understand that the pain you experience does not come only from your eardrum or outer ear.
What the First Month After Cochlear Implant Activation Can Tell Us
Patients who started with low wear time and increased it by six months did just as well at one year as those who wore their processor consistently from the start. Patients whose use declined did measurably worse. A slow start is not a verdict.
Measuring Attention When Listening in Noise
Overall our findings suggest that differences in speech-in-noise ability may reflect a combination of early auditory processing, attention, and how strongly the brain represents target speech compared with background noise.
Hearing Health Is the Missing Metric in Preventive Care
Although it’s one of our most important connections to the world around us, most people don’t routinely monitor changes in their hearing, track exposure to excessive noise, or include hearing screenings as part of their regular preventative care.
NIH Grant Advances Research Into Hearing Loss
With support from an R21 grant from the NIH, Hui Hong, Ph.D., will investigate how the auditory efferent system changes after noise-induced hearing loss and whether those changes help or hinder recovery.