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.
The Hearing Restoration Project (HRP) is an international, collaborative research consortium focused on investigating inner ear hair cell regeneration using animal models to accelerate the timeline to a cure for hearing loss and tinnitus.
The Emerging Research Grants (ERG) program provides seed money to scientists researching underfunded areas of hearing and balance science, and for every dollar HHF invests, grantees receive on average $59 in major federal funding (2002–present).
Your generous support produced the following significant achievements this past year:
HRP members Ronna Hertzano, M.D., Ph.D., Seth Ament, Ph.D., and Albert Edge, Ph.D., and team used a protocol they developed and previously detailed to generate cochlear organoids in the mouse model. Details gleaned from this regenerative process in the mouse organoid provide insights into how mammalian supporting cells could be reprogrammed into hair cells. In a separate paper, Hertzano, who is also a former ERG scientist, detailed a cell type-specific approach to detail the role of a small molecule in hair cells.
HRP members Yehoash Raphael, Ph.D., and Andy Groves, Ph.D., and their research teams coauthored a paper that showed that some GAPS-treated guinea pigs (where four specific genes were intentionally overexpressed) had a statistically significant increase in new hair cell-like cells. Raphael and Groves are also former ERG scientists. Groves also showed that genetic reprogramming converts nonsensory cells into hair cell-like cells in the mature mouse cochlea. Groves’ coauthor in the paper is 2024–2025 ERG scientist Melissa McGovern, Ph.D.
The HRP’s Stefan Heller, Ph.D., who is also a former ERG scientist, published findings that provide a new starting point to investigate the natural triggers of hair cell regeneration in birds. In another study, he found that birds maintain a precise program for hair cell regeneration that preserves frequency-specific nerve connections, which is an important aspect of proper functional recovery. In addition, he published his protocol for investigating hair cell regeneration in birds and detailed a new model for studying hair cell regeneration that creates a consistent and reliable way to damage hair cells in laboratory mice.
2023–2024 ERG scientist Carolyn McClaskey, Ph.D., funded by Royal Arch Research Assistance, detailed changes in the brain with age and hearing loss. In a separate paper with 2022–2023 ERG scientist James W. Dias, Ph.D., who was funded by the Meringoff Family Foundation, they found consistent evidence that auditory nerve function worsens with age, but the impact of noise exposure was less clear and seemed to depend on the specifics of each study.
The HRP’s David Raible, Ph.D., published results that demonstrate the utility of using 3D cell shape features to characterize, compare, and classify cells in a living, developing organism. In another study he found a previously unrecognized mechanism of hair cell regeneration in the zebrafish.
2022–2023 ERG scientist Timothy Balmer, Ph.D., showed that special neurons called unipolar brush cells in the brain coordinate movement and prevent falls.
Julia Campbell, Ph.D., Au.D., a 2016 ERG scientist funded by the Les Paul Foundation, detailed how the brain filters out tinnitus signals in mild cases.
2019 ERG scientist Pierre Apostolides, Ph.D., showed in a study of the mouse brain the surprising role of auditory neurons in learning, and followed up that research by detailing how neurons collectively encode sound in the auditory midbrain.
Megan Beers Wood, Ph.D., a 2022–2023 ERG scientist funded by Hyperacusis Research, detailed a new understanding of pain signals triggered by damage to the inner ear.
2023 ERG scientist George Burwood, Ph.D., looked at the effects of cochlear implantation and steroids on the aging guinea pig cochlea in order to determine what to focus on in order to improve the acoustic experience of cochlear implant recipients.
2019 ERG scientist Viji Easwar, Ph.D., funded by Children’s Hearing Institute, found that tracking brain waves to sounds is a reliable way to assess hearing in infants. In a separate study, she found 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. One of the study’s coauthors is Z. Ellen Peng, Ph.D., a 2020 and 2022 ERG scientist generously funded by Royal Arch Research Assistance.
2022–2023 ERG scientist Mishaela DiNino, Ph.D., funded by the Meringoff Family Foundation, detailed how the use of auditory cues changes with age.
2022–2023 ERG scientist Subong Kim, Ph.D., examined the challenge of balancing noise reduction with speech perception in hearing aids.
Elizabeth Dinces, M.D., a 2011–2012 ERG scientist funded by Royal Arch Research Assistance, found that lower frequencies boost the ability of older adults to separate sounds, which has implications for hearing device designs.
2022–2023 ERG scientist Matthew Masapollo, Ph.D., published real-time evidence that when a person cannot hear their own speech, even temporarily, the ability to speak is impaired, which has implications for cochlear implant users where sound inputs may be degraded.
Thanks to you, these and other HHF-funded scientists are continuing to discover life-changing breakthroughs to better prevent and treat hearing loss, tinnitus, and related conditions. Thank you for your interest and generosity.
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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.