Hearing News and Research

RSS

USC researcher wins NIH grant to study how the cochlea processes complex sounds

USC researcher Karolina Charaziak, PhD, has been awarded a $3.3 million National Institutes of Health (NIH) Research Project (R01) grant to study how the cochlea, the part of the inner ear responsible for hearing, processes complex sounds encountered in everyday life.

7 Jul 2026

KFF poll finds vaccine myths reach many Americans but convince few

KFF’s 2026 tracking poll found that many U.S. adults have heard common vaccine myths, including false claims about MMR, COVID-19, mRNA vaccines, and measles vaccines. Fewer adults strongly believe these myths, but a large, uncertain “malleable middle” remains, especially among those without a trusted health care provider, frequent social media users, some AI health-information users, and parents who delayed or skipped childhood vaccines.

1 Jul 2026

Scientists map how chronic stress alters somatostatin levels in the brain

Consider the brake. Not the engine, which gets all the attention, but the brake, the quiet thing that decides how fast a system is allowed to go.

1 Jul 2026

Review highlights strong safety and effectiveness of mRNA vaccines

A comprehensive new review published in The Lancet affirms that currently approved mRNA vaccines are safe and highly effective at preventing infectious diseases, including COVID-19.

30 Jun 2026

Mice move strategically to gather hidden visual information in VR

Animals don't experience the world passively. A hawk tilts its head to track prey. A person leans forward to read a sign. Scientists call this "active sensing": moving the body to gather better information.

30 Jun 2026

Brighter daytime light is linked to a lower dementia risk

The study finds that greater exposure to daytime light may lower dementia risk, pointing to light's role in enhancing circadian rhythms and cognitive function.

29 Jun 2026

Hearing aids may lower dementia risk in adults with epilepsy and hearing loss

Adults with both epilepsy and hearing loss who use hearing aids may have a 23% lower risk of developing dementia than those who do not, according to new research presented at the European Academy of Neurology (EAN) Congress 2026.

26 Jun 2026

WHO urges countries to expand newborn screening for birth defects

The World Health Organization (WHO) today calls on countries to expand newborn screening for birth defects, highlighting how early detection and treatment can save lives and reduce lifelong disability for millions of children.

24 Jun 2026

Keck School of Medicine of USC and Novartis collaborate to eliminate breast cancer screening barriers

Compelled by disparities in breast cancer outcomes, the Keck School of Medicine of USC's Department of Population and Public Health Sciences and Novartis have joined forces in a pioneering collaboration to support medically underserved communities in Los Angeles County with the goal of eliminating barriers to screening and access.

23 Jun 2026

NIH funds University of Minnesota research on congenital cytomegalovirus infection

A University of Minnesota Medical School research team has received a new 5-year, $3.87 million R01 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to investigate how the immune system protects against congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection.

23 Jun 2026

Aligned heart rates indicate real-world social connection and engagement

When people are close-both physically and emotionally-their heart rates begin to align, rising and falling together. Could such cardiac alignment be used as a way to measure social engagement and connection in everyday settings? Hanlu He and colleagues used data collected by 72 students visiting New York City as part of an audio engineering competition.

23 Jun 2026

Poll reveals gaps in brain health awareness among older adults

Nearly all Michiganders age 50 and over say it's very important to keep their brains healthy as they grow older, a new poll finds.

18 Jun 2026

JMIR articles address AI clinical decision-making and health care worker burnout

JMIR Publications released two feature stories in its News and Perspectives section. Shalini Kathuria Narang's "Can Humanlike Reasoning Be Replicated in Large Language Models for Clinical Decision-Making?" and Sara Novak's "How Health Care Workers Can Manage Digital Fatigue" offer complementary looks into the capabilities of artificial intelligence in diagnostics, and the real-world exhaustion faced by medical professionals managing digital systems.

16 Jun 2026

UConn study finds positive aging TikTok videos boost women's self-confidence

Women who view TikTok videos of others comfortable with their gray hair and laugh lines start to feel more positive about their own aging the more they watch, a new UConn study has found, potentially influencing a woman's ability to age well later in life.

16 Jun 2026

Your brain may taste with its ears, new study suggests

Music composed to evoke sweetness or sourness engaged taste-related brain regions and strengthened gustatory and sensorimotor responses when paired with matching taste stimuli. Sweet music also made tastants more pleasant, although effects on sweetness and sourness intensity were modest.

15 Jun 2026

Study reveals unconscious filtering of emotionally negative words

We tend to assume that emotionally charged words are more likely to grab our attention. An insult shouted across a crowded room or a disturbing phrase overheard on television can seem impossible to ignore.

12 Jun 2026

Genetic screening of LOXHD1 variants guides early hearing loss intervention

Hearing loss is a common cause of disability worldwide, with anywhere between 30-60% of cases being caused by genetic factors. LOXHD1 is a gene integral to essential protein interactions responsible for maintaining normal hair cell function.

11 Jun 2026

GSV hospitals achieve substantially higher delirium screening in older surgical patients

There is a stark gap in how often hospitals screen older adults for postoperative delirium, with verified geriatric surgery programs screening nearly every patient while non-accredited programs screen just half, according to new findings published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.

10 Jun 2026

New game-based therapy retrains muscles after a stroke

A customized throw-back video game may offer a surprisingly futuristic path to stroke recovery.

9 Jun 2026

Experimental two‑in‑one vaccine shows success in human LASSARAB trial

Researchers from Thomas Jefferson University and the University of Maryland School of Medicine have reported encouraging results from the first human clinical trial of LASSARAB, an experimental vaccine designed to protect against Lassa fever and rabies in a single formulation.

9 Jun 2026