Hyperacusis Research

Hearing Health Foundation (HHF) is grateful to Hyperacusis Research for their generous ongoing support of hyperacusis research as part of our Emerging Research Grants (ERG) program. 

Researchers funded by Hyperacusis Research have made tremendous strides toward a better understanding of the mechanisms, causes, diagnosis, and treatment of hyperacusis, defined by their late founder Bryan Pollard as noise-induced pain and also known as loudness intolerance or a hypersensitivity to noise.

Hyperacusis Research-supported HHF grantees have gone on to receive awards from the National Institutes of Health, primarily the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), as well as other major federal funding, including the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP).

We are grateful for Hyperacusis Research’s commitment and trust in our rigorous grant review process. We look forward to continuing our relationship and furthering hyperacusis research for years to come. Please click on the navigation to the right to learn more about specific projects by year.

Bshara Awwad, Ph.D., Mass Eye and Ear

Research topic: Auditory-limbic circuit dynamics as therapeutic targets in hyperacusis

Long-term goal: To determine which brain circuits drive the heightened sound sensitivity and negative valence bias in hyperacusis; test whether targeted stimulation at 40 Hertz (Hz) can restore more normal sound processing; and explore whether measurable physiological responses, such as pupil changes, correlate with symptom severity.

SECOND YEAR

Manoj Kumar, Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh (see 2025 Grantee)

Manoj Kumar, Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh

Research topic: KCNQ2/3 potassium channel activator mitigates noise-trauma-induced hypersensitivity to sounds in mice

Long-term goal: To identify the molecular, cellular, and circuit mechanisms underlying the plasticity of the auditory cortex after noise-induced hearing loss.

SECOND YEAR

Wei Sun, Ph.D., University at Buffalo (see 2024 Grantee)

Wei Sun, Ph.D., University at Buffalo

Research topic: Foxg1 gene mutation–caused hyperacusis—a novel model to study hyperacusis

Long-term goal: To understand how the FOXG1 mutation affects central auditory function and hyperacusis. The results of this study will help us understand the role of the central auditory system in hyperacusis as well as design clinical studies to look at drug treatments and therapies for hyperacusis in children with FOXG1 syndrome and other neurological disorders.

Published Research

Megan Beers Wood, Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (see 2022 Grantee)

Megan Beers Wood, Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Research topic: Type II auditory nerve fibers as instigators of the cochlear immune response after acoustic trauma

Long-term goal: To understand the role of CGRP-alpha in the neurons and immune response of the inner ear, which may illustrate a role for type II neurons in pain and inflammation following tissue damage. CGRP-alpha has been a target for therapeutics for painful conditions such as migraine, making it an attractive therapeutic target for pathologies of the inner ear.

Published Research

David Martinelli, Ph.D., University of Connecticut Health Center

Research topic: Development and transmission of the tinnitus neural code

Long-term goal: To understand how tinnitus is encoded by the auditory system. This will reveal novel therapeutic targets (e.g., specific circuits or optimal time for intervention) for treating tinnitus.

Kelly Radziwon, Ph.D., University at Buffalo

Research topic: Noise-induced hyperacusis in rats with and without hearing loss

Long-term goal: To characterize the relationship between changes in neural activity and loudness perception in animals with and without noise-induced hearing loss.

Dr. Radziwon also received a 2015 Emerging Research Grant for her project titled: The relationship between pain-related molecules in the auditory pathway and hyperacusis. Please refer to 2015 for the ongoing list of her published research.

Senthilvelan Manohar, Ph.D., University at Buffalo

Research topic: Behavioral model of loudness intolerance

Long-term goal: To develop and establish a reliable behavioral model to understand the pain and annoyance aspects of hyperacusis and touse these behavioral models to identify the neural and molecular mechanisms underlying hyperacusis and tinnitus.

Published Research

 

Jennifer Resnik, Ph.D., Mass Eye and Ear

Research topic: Homeostatic modifications in cortical GABA circuits enable states of hyperexcitability and reduced sound level tolerance after auditory nerve degeneration

Long-term goal: To better understand the paradoxical role of central auditory system plasticity as both the cause of—and treatment for—the perceptual consequences of hearing loss. A major step to reach this goal is to understand the compensatory mechanisms, following cochlear damage, that allow for basic sound recovery while potentially introducing hypersensitivity and causing chronic sensory impairments such as hyperacusis.

Published Research

Xiying Guan, Ph.D., Mass Eye and Ear

Research topic: Hyperacusis caused by abnormalities in auditory mechanics

Long-term goal: To understand how hyperacusis can occur due to mechanical disturbances of the middle and inner ear, and to provide the necessary scientific understanding to enable treatment.

Brad Buran, Ph.D., Oregon Health & Science University

Research topic: Neural mechanisms of hyperacusis in the inferior colliculus and cortex of ferrets with noise-induced auditory neurodegeneration

Long-term goal: To understand how hearing loss alters central auditory system function and how this abnormal function can be ameliorated to improve auditory outcomes.

Published Research

NIH Funding: $512,797

 

Kelly Radziwon, Ph.D., University at Buffalo

Research topic: The relationship between pain-related molecules in the auditory pathway and hyperacusis

Long-term goal: To broaden our understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying loudness perception in order to find a potential therapeutic target to correct, or mitigate, bothersome hyperacusis.

Published Research

Richard Tyler, Ph.D., University of Iowa

Research topic: Literature review on hyperacusis, recruitment, misophonia, phonophobia, and mechanisms

Long-term goal: To provide a systematic, comprehensive review of the entire field of hyperacusis in order to direct research to find cures.

Published Research:

NIH Funding: $1,216,261

 

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