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.

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.

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.

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.  

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

This conference is intended for otologists, audiologists, psychologists, hearing aid specialists, and nurses who provide clinical management services for patients with tinnitus. The conference will also provide information to patients who have tinnitus, their family, and friends.

For hyperacusis patients, or people who have a sensitivity to everyday sounds, common household sounds can be a significant challenge, whether it’s a door closing or cooking a meal.