Applying for an Emerging Research Grant
HHF is currently accepting applications for 2026–2027 awards through the Emerging Research Grants program.
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.
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.
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.
Award types available:
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
*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).
Important Notes About Applications
All applications for Emerging Research Grants (ERG) are made in ProposalCentral. You must choose the appropriate award type when applying. The Grant Maker for all ERG award types is “Hearing Health Foundation.”
Elizabeth M. Keithley, Ph.D. Early Stage Investigator Awards and Focused Discovery Awards share an LOI and application in ProposalCentral: the Program Title is “Emerging Research Grants.” You may apply to either, or to both using the same application if you are eligible and your proposed topic is appropriate to the award type.
Expanded Discovery Awards are under the Program Title “ERG—Expanded Discovery Awards.”
You are welcome to apply to the Expanded Discovery Award and to either or both of the other award types if you are eligible and your proposed research topic is applicable. You will, however, need to complete two LOIs/applications.
Getting Started
You are encouraged to consult the ERG Policy to familiarize yourself with the program’s guidelines. Please review the section specific to the award type(s) to which you are applying for information on allowable and unallowable costs.
Instructions are always available in ProposalCentral.
You may access LOI instructions (same for all award types) here.
If you wish to familiarize yourself with the components of the full application, you may access application instructions here:
Please remember that select applicants will be invited to submit full proposals. You should expect to hear from HHF in mid-January 2026 following the submission of your LOI (due by December 5, 2025).
For questions about the ERG program, eligibility, or the application, please contact HHF at grants@hhf.org.
To begin or continue an LOI, please log in to ProposalCentral.
What Happens After You Apply
Every Letter of Intent received from an eligible researcher is assigned to a subcommittee of the Scientific Review Committee, a revolving group of highly qualified researchers and clinicians from across the country. These subcommittees will include reviewers expert in the relevant area.
Select applicants will be invited to submit full proposals. Each proposal will have assigned to it reviewers who are expert in the relevant area and/or methodology. Proposals are assessed on scientific merit, the project’s potential to significantly advance basic knowledge or clinical application, the available facilities and personnel at the PI’s institution, the PI’s qualifications, and the innovative nature of the proposal. Shortlisted proposals are further reviewed by the Council of Scientific Trustees, a standing advisory body comprised of senior research academics and clinicians who oversee the ERG program and set HHF’s research priorities. Finally, the Research Committee of HHF’s Board of Directors review the final shortlisted applications.
Applicants will receive notification of the outcome of their Letter of Intent in January 2026.
Invited applicants will be asked to submit full proposals by April 6, 2026.
The grant year begins on October 1, 2026.
Recently Funded Projects
Below will you will find more information about specific grant opportunities within ERG, including past projects and grantees.