How My Sudden Hearing Loss Paved the Way to a New Life's Mission

By Monique Hammond, Guest Blogger

Like everyone else does, I took my clean, crisp hearing for granted. But over a four-hour period in September 2005, I lost my hearing in my left ear. That same day, an intense vertigo attack made the world spin out of control. I became violently ill and spent the next two days in the hospital. My whole inner ear and nerves had come under attack.

The final verdict was that I had suffered a sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSHL), which is considered a medical emergency. The doctors suspected the cause to be a viral infection complicated by an excessively loud noise exposure from a church fundraiser the day before. I largely credit the treatment of oral steroids and antiviral medication that I received at the very start for being able to regain limited hearing.

The “ear event,” as I like to call it, has left me with a severe one-sided hearing loss, never-ending, high-pitched tinnitus, and annoying sound sensitivities, which make the adjustment of hearing aids quite tricky. Although hearing aids have helped many people beyond their wildest dreams, they have not been tremendously effective for me. Strangely enough, I feel that my hearing aid helps me more with stability—as I am still plagued by pesky balance issues—than with hearing acuity.  

Going back to work only reinforced the realization that my job was eroding right from under me: I simply could not function safely and effectively anymore in the noise-confused environment of the hospital pharmacy that was my place of work. I had enjoyed my work and coworkers and I also appreciated my paycheck. Losing all of that has been emotionally a most difficult adjustment.

I am quite open about my challenges as I have found that to be the best policy for me. I am lucky because my friends and family have been very supportive. Over time, they have come to appreciate the varied challenges that hearing loss bestows on those affected. Yes, I must remind them now and then not to talk to me through walls. But sometimes people forget.  

Of all the hearing-related issues that I have come across, I have chosen noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) as the focus for any of my training, education, and advocacy efforts. Why? Because this is a preventable disability that is on a steep rise. The damage is irreversible but completely avoidable. As yet there is no cure for any kind of hearing loss, and organized public education on this timely topic as well as on hearing loss in general is greatly lacking. (Learn about research toward a cure by HHF’s Hearing Restoration Project.)

All my life I have been a big believer in prevention and education and from that aspect nothing has changed. This why I wrote my book, “What Did You Say?,” and why I bring my new life mission—to help people hear better longer—into a gaping public education void.

These days I am kept busy working with support groups, leading training sessions, doing public speaking, and writing articles and a blog. Although I do use Facebook connected to my website, my favorite social medium is Twitter. It is an ideal tool to keep up with news and research and to communicate information about a myriad of hearing loss topics to my followers.

Yes, the journey into the world of hearing loss has been a long and often thorny road paved with fears and tears but also with plenty of revelations and amazement. Life is different now, but as Senator Hubert H. Humphrey once said: “It is not what they take away from you that counts. It's what you do with what you have left.”

Monique Hammond is a registered pharmacist and the author of “What Did You Say? An Unexpected Journey Into the World of Hearing Loss.” Learn more at moniquehammond.com.

Protect Your Ears This July 4!

By Tara Guastella

The Fourth of July is a great time for barbecues, trips to the beach, and spending time with friends and family. But fireworks and firecrackers, ubiquitous to many Independence Day celebrations, not only are a potential fire hazard, they also can do permanent damage to one's ears.

These beautiful spectacles measure between 140 and 165 decibels. This means that even one minute of exposure to them can cause immediate, permanent hearing loss.  

When exposed to sounds that are too loud or loud sounds that last a long time, such as a fireworks display, delicate cells in our inner ear can be damaged, causing noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). These sensory hair cells in the inner ear convert sound energy into electrical signals that travel to the brain. Once damaged, our hair cells cannot grow back.

While you're enjoying summertime get-togethers, remember to pack ear protection, such as earplugs or earmuffs, and don't forget a pair for the kids! Also remember to Walk, Block, and Turn:

Walk away from loud sounds.

Block loud sounds with ear protection.

Turn the volume down (when you can control it).

Learn more about how loud is too loud today.

We wish you and your family a happy, healthy, and safe Fourth of July holiday!

Stay tuned for more about NIHL—its symptoms, prevention, treatment, and related conditions such as tinnitus—in the upcoming Summer issue of Hearing Health magazine. Get a free subscription by signing up here. We also wish to salute and thank our military service members, who are disproportionately affected by hearing loss and tinnitus as a result of their service, on this American holiday.

The HRP's Andy Groves, Ph.D. and HHF Board member Nancy M. Williams to Speak at HLAA Convention

By Tara Guastella

If you are headed to Austin for the Annual Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) Convention at the end of June, make sure to stop by Andy Groves, Ph.D.’s workshop on Friday, June 27, at 1:30pm.

Andy Groves, Ph.D.

Baylor College of Medicine

Dr. Groves will be giving a presentation on the Hearing Restoration Project (HRP) and how the power of collaboration is expediting the road to a cure for hearing loss and tinnitus. Chickens, fish, and most non-mammals have a remarkable ability to naturally restore damaged inner ear hair cells (damage or death of these cells is what causes hearing loss). The HRP is working to identify how we can translate this process, known as hair cell regeneration, to humans to develop a biologic cure for hearing loss and tinnitus.

The HRP scientists are working collaboratively sharing ideas, data, and resources to shorten the timeline to a cure. During our last monthly conference call with the consortium, an HRP scientist was presenting initial data on a series of experiments he is conducting. After feedback from other consortium members, he will now approach the experiment in a more beneficial way with greater impact to the research process. This experience highlighted the power of many minds over one.

Hear more about the HRP and the exciting research advancements at Dr. Groves’s workshop on Friday. Materials and information on the HRP will be available for attendees so don’t forget to pick up more information while you’re there.

HHF Board member, Nancy M. Williams, pianist and hearing loss advocate, will also be presenting at the HLAA Convention. She will share her story of reclaiming the piano to help participants tap into their passions.

When Williams reclaimed her passion for the piano after a 25-year hiatus, she came to terms with her hearing loss—and pursuing her passion radiated out to other aspects of her life. Ms. Williams will share her story in the “Finding Your Calling... Despite a Hearing Loss" workshop on Saturday, June 28 at 8:45am.

Be sure to stop by both exciting sessions!

Boston Bombings Leave Doctors Using Wartime Surgeries to Fix Social Work Student's Ruptured Ear Cavity

By Tara Guastella

On April 15, 2013, Lauren Vulcano, then a 24-year-old school counseling graduate student, and her boyfriend Mark Snickenberger, also then 24, were watching Mark’s brother run in the 2013 Boston Marathon. The events that unfolded that day changed the way Lauren will hear forever.

The day was as pleasant as any until the first backpack containing a homemade pressure cooker bomb exploded. Lauren was standing just four feet away. “I first felt a very calming feeling, almost euphoric,” she says. “I could really feel the heat and it felt nice, like being on beach—but I was completely unaware of what was happening. It felt like five minutes but in reality it was only a matter of seconds.”

Mark panicked and grabbed Lauren to try and move her away from the scene. She stood still with both of her hands covering her ears standing perfectly straight—like a “telephone pole,” she says. Lauren tried to plug her ears as hard as she could since the extreme loudness and subsequent ringing in her ears (tinnitus) physically hurt.

Suddenly Lauren’s right ear started to bleed just as the second bomb exploded; she learned later that her eardrum had ruptured. “Mark put his arm around me and guided or dragged me down the street, pressing my injured right ear against his left shoulder to apply pressure,” Lauren says.  “Finally I snapped out of the state of shock and began to understand what was going on.” Once Lauren and Mark made it to a safe location in an AT&T store, Lauren noticed the eight-inch gash on the side of Mark’s leg with blood pouring out of it.

Lauren and Mark are circled in the above photo as they escaped from the Boston Marathon bombing.

Lauren began taking off her coat in an attempt to take care of her boyfriend’s leg. She then realized her own shoulder was bleeding. “Since we didn’t know what was in the air, I was instructed to put my coat back on,” says Lauren. “I felt so helpless because I wanted to do something to help Mark since he saved my life by dragging me out of the bomb scene.”

As she made attempts to scream and call for help, Lauren realized she couldn’t hear herself screaming, and she thought no one else could hear her screaming either. “In the AT&T store, someone brought a wheelchair in for me and then they ran Mark into the medical tent,” Lauren says.

Lauren and Mark are circled in the above photo as they escaped from the Boston Marathon bombing.

While they were tending to Mark’s leg, Lauren left to find Mark’s mom. “After a quick discussion of who should go with him to the hospital, Mark’s mom said ‘no, you go. He needs you.’ I grabbed his stretcher and helped the first responders run it to an ambulance. When no one instructed us which ambulance to go to, I just picked one and started pulling his stretcher into its back entrance.”

Lauren was so worried about Mark’s leg that it wasn’t until they arrived at the hospital that she realized she also had a black eye and her forehead was bleeding. Once at the hospital, Lauren says she finally felt safe and laid down beside Mark to let the doctors care for them both.

“I was examined by the on-call ear surgeon who had an impeccable bedside manner, given the situation,” Lauren says. “I then learned that a BB from the bomb had gone straight into my ear, hit the cochlea, and bounced out, rupturing my eardrum and shattering the malleus bone [a small middle ear bone].”

Lauren was later released from the hospital and arrived home around 9 or 10pm that evening; Mark had to stay overnight. A piece of nylon from the backpack that contained the bomb had melted into Lauren’s hair and a portion of skin on the right side of her head was burned so badly from the explosive heat that her hair fell out. “Not wanting to be alone that night I made my mom give me a sponge bath and then stayed on the phone with Mark for the remainder of the night.”

The following day Lauren went to visit the ear surgeon at the surgeon’s office. Since the loud blast Lauren experienced is considered a military injury, not a civilian injury, her doctors continually consulted with military physicians.

Lauren’s doctor used an updated version of an old wartime surgery technique. In the past working out on the field, wartime doctors would place a piece of cigarette paper between the pieces of the eardrum in hopes some of the skin cells would "crawl" across the paper to make a skin graft. Today this surgery is more complex with better material used, but it didn’t work for Lauren’s ear. “For several months, my ear was just still too damaged for the skin graft to take,” Lauren says. “I had a real surgery in June and when that didn’t work, my doctor referred me to Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary.”

Lauren had another surgery in August and when that didn't work, they tried a number of those "quick fixes" again. In each of these surgeries another piece of Lauren’s ear injury puzzle is revealed. “My next surgery will be where I receive a prosthetic malleus. It's frustrating that after a year of the best medical care, my ear hasn't gotten much better. It's just too damaged from the blast,” she says.

Even after undergoing three surgeries and still not being able to hear out of her right ear, Lauren graduated on time (taking extra classes) from her master’s program earning a dual license in school guidance counseling as well as school social work/adjustment counseling and will be a school guidance counselor this fall.

“As I was sitting in classes learning about things like post-traumatic stress disorder and depression, I began to become very aware of my own symptoms,” Lauren says. “I knew how to identify the signs and I knew what these conditions looked like.”

Living through the blasts, though taxing on health and personal life, has greatly benefited her career, she says. “This past year I had a full-time internship at an elementary school. Feeling things firsthand really helped me to become aware of children’s symptoms much more accurately since I knew exactly what to look for,” she says.

Another aspect that helped Lauren overcome the experience of the explosions and her hearing loss is being able to talk about it. “I am naturally a ‘chatty Cathy,’ so when I went back to classes after the bombing I didn’t want people to ignore the elephant in the room—that I was in a bombing. I wanted to lay it all out there and give them an opportunity to ask me questions so it was all out in the open,” she says. “So I asked my professors if I could give a presentation of how I escaped after the bombing and talk about it with classmates.” All of Lauren’s professors were incredibly understanding, she says.

As she first began sharing her experience, Lauren would sob through the entire narration of the day’s events. Now after being completely open about it for over a year, Lauren can recount that day without a tear in her eye. Lauren, Mark, and Mark’s brother ran the 2014 Boston Marathon with other marathon blast survivors, including the Campbell family, Dave Fortier, Lynn Crisci, Shannon Silvestri, and many others.

HHF's National Junior Board Raises Over $60,000 at 2nd Annual A Summer Soiree Event

By Tara Guastella

HHF Board Chair Shari Eberts presents Partner for Hearing Health award to Regal's Chris Chromey-Marquis

This past Monday night, HHF’s National Junior Board hosted its second annual “A Summer Soiree” event to benefit a cure for hearing loss and tinnitus. Held at the restaurant Ainsworth Park in New York City, nearly 200 attendees enjoyed cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, a silent auction, raffles, and a fun photo booth. The event raised more than $60,000, a portion of which will be allocated to naming an Emerging Research Grant.

Regal Entertainment Group was presented with the annual Partner for Hearing Health Award for its commitment to people living with hearing impairment. Regal is dedicated to providing solutions for hearing impaired movie-goers and showcased a pair of newly released closed captioning glasses at the event.

HHF CEO Claire Schultz provided remarks at the event and shared her enthusiastic support of the Junior Board members. “It was so encouraging to see such a fantastic turnout at the Soiree and the interest in our work to cure hearing loss and tinnitus,” says Schultz. “I am thrilled to continue working with the Junior Board to further our mission.”

ACS Customs, a provider of custom-fit hearing protection and in-ear monitors for musicians, was also present and provided custom earmolds for attendees.

National Junior Board President Michael Kolodny also spoke before the crowd. “Hearing research is very important to my family since my daughter was born with bilateral hearing loss and currently wears cochlear implants,” he says. “I am so encouraged by the groundbreaking research that HHF funds and I am excited to support the cause of preventing and curing hearing loss and tinnitus.”

HHF appreciates the support from Regal as well as additional event sponsors UBS, Advanced Bionics, Legendary Pictures, Macquarie Capital, ACS, Blue Moon, and DASHA Wellness.

View more event photos on our Facebook page.

Dads and Grads: Listen Up!

By Tara Guastella

If you’re still searching for a Father’s Day gift (like I am), consider scheduling Dad for a hearing screening. Since men are more likely to experience hearing loss than women, show him how much you want him to have a lifetime of healthy hearing this year.

Many men that I know feel that losing their hearing is “just part of the aging process.” Yet most people wait 7 to 10 years after they begin having difficulty hearing to get their hearing tested. While age-related hearing loss does affect many as they grow older, having a hearing screening can help your loved one to learn if there indeed is a hearing loss and receive treatment if it is recommended by the doctor.  

Dad isn’t the only one who should have his hearing checked though. Teens and young adults are also heavily impacted by hearing loss. It is estimated that 1 in 5 teens now has hearing loss which may be a result of regular exposure to unsafe sounds such as loud music on iPhones or mp3 players.

If you need help finding a hearing healthcare provider for your loved one, consider using the search features on our partner organization websites. You can also learn how to recognize the signs of hearing loss and how hearing works.

This June, show your dad and grad just how much you care by encouraging them to have their hearing checked.

Boston Marathon Injuries

By Yishane Lee

Last year, Dave Fortier ran the Boston Marathon in honor of a friend who has leukemia. He experienced up close the two bomb blasts that forever altered the event, becoming one of the nearly 300 people who were injured. A piece of shrapnel became embedded in his right foot, and the immediate ringing in the ears he experienced is now permanent.

Fortier’s foot healed quickly and he was able to race the New York City Marathon seven months later, again to raise funds for leukemia research. But while supporting his friend will always be a priority, Fortier now has a personal interest in promoting the search for a cure for hearing loss and tinnitus. “On long runs I think about things I want to do, and after finishing Boston again this year, my first thought has been to take care of my hearing,” says Fortier, who lives in Newburyport, Mass. “I’m very happy to be supporting Hearing Health Foundation and the search for a cure.”

Fortier, 49, and members of a Boston Marathon survivors support group are running the New Hampshire Reach the Beach Relay in September. The race spans 200 miles and 24 hours, with each member of a 12-person team taking separate legs—including during the middle of the night—totaling nearly 17 miles each.

“Before this year’s Boston Marathon, everybody in this survivor community felt a lot of unity. We had 28 people running the race, and many were first-time marathoners like Chris Campbell,” Fortier says. “I could really see we all felt a sense of belonging, and one of my biggest fears was that after the finish line this feeling would end for all of us. So we quietly went online and registered for Reach the Beach, and when someone asked, ‘Gosh, what do we do next?’ we had an answer—I said, ‘Well guys, we’ve got something for you, if you’re interested—I signed us all up for this race.’”

Fortier says they easily filled one 12-person team, and the personal investment in finding a cure affects several who are running.

“If you see the videos and photos of when the first explosion happens, I’m the guy with a black hat and black shorts who is right behind the gentleman who falls,” he says. “I’m reaching up and holding the side of my head. The sound—it felt like someone hit me with a brick. I actually thought someone behind me had cuffed my ear with a fist. I just remember that pain. The ringing happened instantaneously.”

He adds, “The ringing today is as loud as it was that day. I’ve learned to suppress it a little bit, but when I start talking about it and thinking about it, I can hear it. It’s ever present.”

Although his hearing loss in his left ear, which was facing the first blast, is so far mild, Fortier has been taking steps to compensate. “Now I tell people when I’m first meeting them that I will be leaning toward them to hear better, so they don’t think I’m getting in their personal space for no reason. I’ve also learned to look at the speaker’s lips for clues,” he says.

At night, Fortier uses a combination of white noise and low-volume talk radio to tamp down the tinnitus. “But I’m lucky if I get three solid hours a night. If something wakes me up—like the dog needing to go out at 3:30 a.m.—well, then, I’m up for the day.”

“My injuries were so minor compared with everyone else, but while the stitches in my foot are long gone, for me hearing is the bigger issue for sure,” he says. Fortier is excited and encouraged by the progress of the Hearing Restoration Project (HRP), including the groundbreaking regeneration of inner ear hair cells in adult mice by Albert Edge, Ph.D., an HRP consortium member at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School.

Unlike other species, such as birds and fish, mammals lose their hearing permanently once inner ear hair cells are damaged by, for instance, a sudden loud noise. The HRP’s goal is to translate the ability of birds and fish to naturally regenerate hair cells to mammals, including humans.

Make Your Summer Fun for a Good Cause: Fundraise to Cure Hearing Loss & Tinnitus

By Tara Guastella

Temperatures are heating up, beaches are now open, the smell of grilling is in the air, and schools will soon be out for summer vacation. This is one of my favorite times of year.

If you have plans for a get together this summer, did you know you can turn your summer fun into a good cause? Well, you can! Whether you’re holding a pool party, car wash, barbecue, or any other type of event, you can turn your occasion into a fundraiser for Hearing Health Foundation (HHF) to support a cure hearing loss and tinnitus.

You can create your fundraiser through our online fundraising website that was specifically designed with you in mind. Once you register, you’ll be able to personalize your giving page with a photo, story about why you are fundraising for HHF, and fundraising goal. You’ll then be able to email family, friends, colleagues, and members of your community directly through our website to encourage them to attend the event and support the cause. You can share your fundraising on social media like Facebook and Twitter to encourage your social network to get involved, too. Finally, track your fundraising progress with your own personal thermometer that will increase with each new donation you receive.

The team at HHF is here to help with your event. We can provide you with written materials (such as complimentary copies of Hearing Health magazine and brochures on a cure hearing loss and tinnitus), earplugs, gift bags, and bracelets. We are also happy to answer any questions you may have about hosting a fundraising event or about using our fundraising website. If you’ve never done anything like this before, don’t let that stop you! We are happy to be your partner in raising funds for a cure for hearing loss and tinnitus.

If you don’t have any events planned this summer, here are a few ideas for you to consider:

• Pool party

• Barbecue

• Clam bake

• Bake sale

• Car wash

• Beach volleyball tournament

• Golf tournament

• Baseball tournament

• Bike race

• Running race

• Obstacle course race (e.g., Spartan race, Warrior Dash, Tough Mudder)

• Birthday, anniversary, wedding, bar/bat mitzvah, Sweet 16 (you can ask for donations in lieu of gifts)

See more ideas and examples of past fundraising events and get started today!

This Memorial Day, We Honor Our Veterans Who Disproportionately Suffer from Hearing Loss & Tinnitus

By Tara Guastella

In early May, I attended the Classy awards collaborative weekend in San Diego, where hundreds of people making a difference in the nonprofit sector came together to find ways to innovate and collaborate. During one of the sessions, I learned of a startling statistic: 22 veterans commit suicide each day.

When I heard this, the first thing that popped into my mind was the fact that 60 percent of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan have hearing loss or tinnitus. These conditions have consistently been the top two health complaints at Veteran Affairs Medical Centers. Hearing loss is also linked to higher rates of depression.

Since hearing problems are so prevalent among military service members, as are such mental health concerns as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, I began to wonder what services are provided to veterans to help them adjust. I soon learned that organizations like the Easter Seals Dixon Center (whom I met at the Classy awards weekend) are building collaborative networks in local communities to provide a holistic approach to veteran care.

The Dixon Center has built a network of more than 20,000 organizations and like-minded individuals, serving over 560 communities. They help communities identify and mobilize direct services to support educational and employment opportunities alongside services for healthcare, legal and financial advice, and housing. I was happy to learn that they are actively working to meet the everyday needs of veterans and their families while also anticipating their future needs.

To help veterans cope with hearing issues, we launched a veterans resource center earlier this year. We highlight various treatments for tinnitus that are being clinically tested as well as the promise of a cure for everyone with hearing loss and tinnitus, including veterans, through our Hearing Restoration Project consortium. You’ll find profiles of several veterans impacted by hearing loss and tinnitus while serving overseas, and you too can share your experience with us. We also have a page dedicated to resources where veterans can find additional hearing and health-related support. The upcoming summer issue of Hearing Health magazine will focus specifically on noise-induced hearing loss and tinnitus, highlighting these health issues in the military.

With providing continued support to our veteran community, I hope to learn that the suicide rates decrease in years to come.

Since these brave men and women are disproportionately impacted by hearing problems, which likely impacts many other aspects of their lives, the team at HHF wishes to honor all of our veterans this Memorial Day.

What Does a Chicken Have to Do with Hearing Loss?

http://aubankaitis.com/2014/05/14/chicken-and-hearing-loss/

What would you think if someone told you that a baby chick holds the cure for hearing loss? One of the keys to restoring normal hearing in humans is cochlear hair cell regeneration, something that most animals other than mammals, including chickens, can do.  The Hearing Health Foundation recently launched a new public service announcement (PSA) called “Chirp the News” which features a baby chick with hearing loss who goes on to live a happy, normal-hearing life. After viewing it, my curiosity was piqued. I had an opportunity to ask Shari Eberts, Chairman of the HHF’s Board of Directors, a couple of questions and wanted to share what I learned.

Question: For those that are not familiar with your organization, what is the Hearing Health Foundation and/or what is the Foundation’s mission?

Hearing Health Foundation (HHF) is the largest private funder of hearing research, with a mission to prevent and cure hearing loss and tinnitus through groundbreaking research. Since 1958 HHF has given away millions of dollars to hearing and balance research, including work that led to cochlear implant technology and now through the Hearing Restoration Project is working on a cure for hearing loss and tinnitus. Hearing Health Foundation also publishes Hearing Health magazine, a free consumer resource on hearing loss and related technology, research, and products.

Question: Shari, it is my understanding that you acquired a hearing loss in your late 20′s.  Can you tell me a little bit about how your hearing loss was identified, the cause of your hearing loss, and how it has impacted your personal and professional lives?  

I first noticed my hearing loss in business school. Students were participating in class, and I would sometimes miss their comments, particularly the funny ones that were made almost as an aside. My father and my grandmother both had a hearing loss, so I figured I should get tested. It turns out that I had a mild hearing loss in both ears. The loss is genetic and is centered in the mid-range or speech frequencies. Luckily, my high pitch hearing is almost perfect. My loss has gotten progressively worse each year since business school, but I am able to manage it with hearing aids and by advocating for myself. At first, I didn’t want to admit that I had a hearing loss, and I hid it from others, but eventually I began to realize how much better my life could be if I used my hearing aids, and I began wearing them all the time. I am glad that I do.

As someone who lives with hearing loss everyday, I am personally thrilled with the prospects for a cure. Life with hearing loss can be frustrating.  Sometimes you miss the joke when everyone else is laughing and sometimes you miss important information because you don’t hear it. Supportive family and friends can make living with hearing loss easier, but a genuine cure would be life changing. After having met and worked with our consortium scientists for these past two years, I am confident that we will have a cure in my lifetime. I am counting the days.

Question: Knowing that you acquired a hearing loss in your late 20′s, it makes sense that you would be passionate about educating people about hearing loss and learning about various research focusing on a cure. With so many different organizations dedicated to hearing loss, what made you specifically gravitate toward Hearing Health Foundation? What makes this organization so unique?

HHF’s approach to research is unique and I believe it will shorten the timeline to a cure. For years, scientific research has been conducted in relative isolation—one researcher or one institution working alone to tackle a major health issue. HHF developed the HRP Consortium model to do things differently. Our HRP scientists work on research projects together, share their unpublished data and tools, and collaborate on the development and refinement of the HRP’s strategic research plan. The group meets bi-annually in person, monthly by conference call, and communicates frequently by email. This continual dialogue is helping to eliminate repetitive work across the team, saving time and research dollars, and most importantly, accelerating the timetable to a cure.

Our HRP Consortium is the dream team of hair cell regeneration, comprising the best auditory scientists at leading institutions worldwide such as Harvard and Stanford. With more than 200 years of combined experience in hearing research, the HRP Consortium publishes widely (over 400 published papers among them) and have well established labs (receiving over 600 NIH grants combined). We have every confidence we have the right team in place, and the right model to accelerate the timeline to a cure.

Question: The Hearing Health Foundation was established in 1958 and had been seeking donations from the public to help fund “groundbreaking research” for the prevention of and cure for hearing loss. Can you provide a historical synopsis of some of the more significant research achieved by the Foundation since its inception?

HHF’s founder, Collette Ramsey Baker, was steadfast in her support of funding for new technologies and treatments for hearing loss. For example, back in the 1960s, HHF began funding research into cochlear implant technology. HHF’s founder, Collette Ramsey Baker, prevailed despite objections and doubts from supporters that she was wasting money. Cochlear implants have proven to be a valuable treatment option for people with profound hearing loss, benefiting 125,000 people in the U.S. and 300,000 people worldwide. HHF has also research that led to the development of many of today’s standard treatments for otosclerosis (abnormal bone growth in the ear) and ear infections.   In the 1990s, HHF was a leader in advocating for Universal Newborn Hearing Screening legislation, which increased testing from 5% of newborns to 94% by 2007. In 2011, HHF launched our most important project yet, the Hearing Restoration Project (HRP),  which aims to discover a biological cure for hearing loss and tinnitus.

Question: What research is the Foundation currently working on that is anticipated to have a significant and/or practical impact on hearing loss prevention and/or cure within the next 10 years?

HHF officially launched its Hearing Restoration Project (HRP) in 2011 and is currently funding 5 projects from its consortium scientists, but the initial discovery that led to the HRP came many years before. Many types of hearing loss result from damage to the delicate hair cells of the inner ear. Humans can’t regrow these cells—but in a game-changing breakthrough in 1987, HHF-funded scientists discovered that birds can. While studying how drugs that are known to cause hearing damage affect the tiny sensory cells in the ear, these scientists needed to permanently damage a chicken’s hair cells. For 10 days, research assistants administered a common antibiotic, known to cause hearing loss, to laboratory chickens. On day 11 many of the hair cells were lost and a few days later, even more were lost. Surprisingly, when the scientists looked three weeks later, almost all the hair cells had returned.  They didn’t believe these results so they did the experiment again and again. Sure enough, chickens can naturally regenerate their inner ear hair cells, restoring their hearing after damage.

The amazing thing is that regeneration happens naturally and very robustly in almost all animals – mammals are the exception. This makes HHF and the researchers confident that we will find a way to stimulate this regeneration in mammals, including humans.

The HRP consortium of scientists has developed a strategic research plan to develop a cure for hearing loss and tinnitus in 10 years. This three-phase plan starts with discovery research and culminates in clinical trials. The plan, developed specifically by the HRP scientists and updated to incorporate new findings and approaches, is a living document meant to guide but not limit the work. Relevance to this strategic plan is one of the criteria for a project to receive HRP funding.

The HRP is currently in Phase I of its strategic research plan (years 1-5). This first phase focuses on searching for the genes or series of genes that trigger natural regeneration of hair cells in animals such as birds and zebrafish. This phase will also examine which genes in mammals prevent the natural regeneration of hair cells. Finally, Phase I will determine the types of cells in mammals’ ears that could serve as available targets for regeneration therapies. Phase II (years 3-8) starts with the residual cells that remain in a mammal’s inner ear after hearing loss and uses the genes identified in Phase I to trigger hair cell regeneration. In Phase III (years 8-10), the HRP Consortium will partner with a pharmaceutical or other company to develop drugs that mimic the identified genes, resulting in a regenerative therapy.

Question: How can audiologists and other hearing health care providers get involved with the Hearing Health Foundation?

HHF is always eager to partner with hearing health care providers! In fact, we have developed a brochure specifically for use by hearing health care providers that includes important information for their patients about how hearing works, the types of hearing loss, and common treatment solutions. It also lets patients know about the resources HHF can offer, like its free quarterly magazine. Hearing Health Magazine is the award-winning leading consumer publication on hearing loss filled with the latest on research breakthroughs, strategies to manage hearing loss, personal stories, hearing technologies and products and features on seniors, pediatrics, parents, musicians, veterans and more!   Please feel free to contact us at info@hhf.org if you are a hearing health care professional and would like copies of our patient brochure or magazine.

Question: How can the general public support the mission and goals of the Hearing Health Foundation?

There are lots of ways for people to learn more about HHF and help support our research for a cure for hearing loss and tinnitus.

1. Visit our website to learn more

2. Stay up to date on all the latest news by liking us on Facebook and following us on Twitter

3. Sign up for our informative monthly e-newsletter

4. Subscribe to Hearing Health Magazine, our award-winning leading consumer publication on hearing loss. Get the latest on research breakthroughs, strategies to manage hearing loss, personal stories, hearing technologies and products, and features on seniors, pediatrics, veterans, musicians and more.

5. Inspire others by sharing your personal story and draw comfort from the stories of others

6. Create a fundraising event or giving page

7. Make a tribute gift to honor a loved one with hearing loss or a favorite audiologist

8. Support our work with a tax-deductible donation

Shari Eberts is Chairman of the Board of Directors at the Hearing Health Foundation, an organization whose mission is to prevent and cure hearing loss and tinnitus via collaborative, groundbreaking research. She received her BS from Duke University in 1990 and MBA from the Harvard Business School in 1995. Previously employed by Goldman Sachs and McKinsey & Company, Shari spent 13 years at J.P. Morgan in the capacity of a senior equity analyst (broadlines retail) and, most recently as Associate Director of U.S. Equity Research.  This mom of two and former Wall-Streeter joined HHR in 2010 and has committed herself to supporting the search for a cure for hearing loss and tinnitus.