The road to more effective, less invasive, and faster developing treatments for tinnitus and loudness hyperacusis lies in focusing on the brain and not the ear.
Putting the Brakes on Hyperactivity in the Brain
Understanding Pain Signals Triggered by Damage to the Inner Ear
Of relevance to hyperacusis, prior noise-induced hearing loss leads to the generation of prolonged and repetitive activity in type II neurons and surrounding tissues. This aberrant signaling may be the basis for the sensitivity to everyday sounds seen in hyperacusis.
Hyperacusis Research Presentation at ARO
At the 2024 Association for Research in Otolaryngology (ARO) MidWinter Meeting, held in early February in Anaheim, California, our partner Hyperacusis Research hosted a dinner where several researchers presented their latest findings.
HHF Completes First Phase of Its Transformative Planned Giving Matching Challenge
The 218 planned gift commitments total an estimated $30 million to $50 million, 100 percent of which will be used to fund scientific research on hearing loss and related conditions.
Lo Que He Aprendido de Mis Pacientes con Hiperacusia
Los pacientes con hiperacusia dolorosa no están sobreprotegiendo sus oídos. Ellos están tratando de sobrevivir. El sonido en realidad activa los receptores del dolor, y eso puede provocar reacciones catastróficas. Sin una suficiente protección, ellos pueden fácilmente empeorar.
What I Have Learned From My Hyperacusis Patients
Pain hyperacusis patients are not overprotecting their ears. They are trying to survive. Sound is actually activating pain receptors, and it can cause catastrophic reactions. As an audiologist, I now know it’s wrong to tell pain hyperacusis patients to stop wearing earplugs or earmuffs or to initiate sound therapy.
Meet the 2024 Emerging Research Grants Scientists
As of this year, our general hearing health grants have been renamed Elizabeth M. Keithley, Ph.D. Early Stage Investigator Awards in recognition of Keithley’s impact on the field and long service to HHF, and the awards’ focus on supporting the next generation.
Keep Listening, Siga Escuchando
As a member of many Facebook groups in Spanish related to hearing condition issues, I feel that with Spanish translations of key pages, HHF can reach and bring help to a lot of people who are from Spanish-speaking countries.
Brain Targets for Hearing Recovery After Noise-Induced Hearing Loss
Our results hold the promise to advance understanding of the cortical mechanisms underlying disorders associated with maladaptive cortical plasticity after peripheral damage, such as tinnitus, hyperacusis, and difficulty hearing in noisy environments.
My Hope Is to Turn Pain Into Progress
Most of my life I had no ear problems. I never thought about the noise I was exposed to, certainly never in terms of the grave hazard and enormous threat that I now know it to be.