Hearing Health Foundation (HHF) is currently accepting applications for 2026–2027 awards through our Emerging Research Grants program.
Changes to the Application Process
Note that the application process for Emerging Research Grants has changed this year. Applicants are now asked to submit a Letter of Intent (LOI) by December 5, which will undergo review by HHF’s Scientific Review Committee. Select applicants will then be invited to submit full proposals. ERG applications are now made to one or more of three award types. Please see below for details.
Letters of Intent are due by Monday, December 5, 2025.
Review the Policy on Emerging Research Grants before proceeding for important information on eligibility, allowable costs, and other important program guidelines.
Eligibility Requirements
To apply for an Emerging Research Grant you must:
hold an Au.D., M.D., Ph.D., or equivalent degree, and
hold an appointment at a nonprofit educational, governmental, or other research institution located in the United States. Appointments include faculty, postdoctoral fellow, or clinical/research fellow. Current medical residents in otolaryngology may also apply. Other medical residents and Ph.D. students are not eligible.
Some award types may have additional eligibility requirements. Please consult the ERG Policy for details.
Award Types Available
HHF especially welcomes applications from Early Stage Investigators (ESIs are no more than 10 years from the most recent terminal degree or medical residency). Most grant opportunities are also open to senior investigators.
Elizabeth M. Keithley, Ph.D. Early Stage Investigator Awards
Restricted to Early Stage Investigators
Applicants may not currently have more than $100,000 in outside support (direct costs) or hold/have previously held major federal awards (see ERG Policy, section IV(A) for details).
HHF invites proposals on any topic in hearing and balance research
Maximum of $50,000 per year, renewable for a second year for a total of $100,000
See ERG Policy, section IV for important details on allowable/unallowable costs and other rules
Focused Discovery Awards
Applications invited from eligible investigators at any career stage
HHF invites proposals on:
Age-related hearing loss
Ménière’s disease
Pain and/or loudness hyperacusis‡
Tinnitus
Maximum of $50,000 per year, renewable for a second year for a total of $100,000
See ERG Policy, section V for important details on allowable/unallowable costs and other rules
Expanded Discovery Awards
Applications invited from eligible investigators at any career stage
HHF invites proposals on Central Auditory Processing Disorder*
Maximum of $100,000 per year, renewable for a second year for a total of $200,000
See ERG Policy, section VI for important details on allowable/unallowable costs and other rules
For more, see hhf.org/how-to-apply. Questions? Email grants@hhf.org.
*CAPD describes a heterogeneous group of disorders of central auditory processing identified in an ever increasing population, spanning infancy through the elderly and of diverse etiology due to various underlying pathologies, all leading to difficulties in making sense of the sounds that one hears. These include challenges in recognizing which sounds are important and which are background noise; telling one sound apart from another; locating where sounds are coming from; remembering sounds in the order they are heard; and experiencing additional difficulties in understanding after exposure to loud noises. The hearing difficulties associated with CAPD occur despite normal hearing thresholds, thus audibility of sounds per se is not the cause. Consequently, it remains challenging to diagnose, manage and treat, given the wide variety of symptoms grouped under the label, the complex relationship between CAPD and other disorders and disabilities, and uncertainties about its cause(s).
‡Hyperacusis is a reduced tolerance to sound(s) that are perceived as normal to the majority of the population or were perceived as normal to the person before their onset of hyperacusis. The specific subtype of hyperacusis funded with this grant is that which is acquired (not inborn) and involves sound causing pain and/or experienced as too loud. Further worsening from sounds that exceed a patient’s tolerance, known as setbacks, are a core characteristic of this type of hyperacusis. For additional details, refer to the “What Is Hyperacusis” page at our partner Hyperacusis Research’s site.
Research projects shall seek to find the underlying biological causes of pain and/or loudness hyperacusis or develop effective therapies for the treatment of pain and/or loudness hyperacusis. Other decreased sound tolerance conditions such as misophonia, phonophobia, and auditory processing disorder are not eligible, nor are research proposals involving sound therapies, including TRT (Tinnitus Retraining Therapy).
The Latest Blog Posts
Hearing Health Foundation (HHF) is currently accepting applications for 2026–2027 awards through our Emerging Research Grants program.