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HHF News
New board members Nancy Young, M.D. (above), and Sharon Kujawa, Ph.D.
HHF Welcomes Two New Board Members...
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Two new members joined Hearing Health Foundation’s Board of Directors this spring, bringing specific insights on hearing loss from excess noise and cochlear implantation.
Sharon Kujawa, Ph.D., is a professor of otolaryngology–head and neck surgery at Harvard Medical School; a principal investigator at EatonPeabody Laboratories, Mass Eye and Ear; and director of audiology research and the Sheldon and Dorothea Buckler Chair in Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery at Mass Eye and Ear. She received her doctorate from the University of Arizona, where she was later named Distinguished Alumnus in Speech and Hearing. The American Academy of Audiology, where she served two terms on the executive board and received the 2010 Distinguished Achievement Award, describes her as “one of the field’s most active and accomplished audiologists and scientists.”
Dr. Kujawa received a 1999 Emerging Research Grant (ERG) for a project titled “Ménière’s Disease: Monitoring Pharmacologic Manipulations,” and since 2013 she has been a member of HHF’s Council of Scientific Trustees, the scientific advisory body that oversees the ERG program. Her research focuses on primary causes of hearing loss like noise exposure and aging, aiming to reveal the underlying cellular damage and its consequences to hearing function.
In recent years, this work has given rise to the concept of “hidden hearing loss”—declines in hearing function that are not revealed by the threshold audiogram, but are well known to those who experience them. (Dr. Kujawa will be presenting on this topic for our April 25 webinar, which will be recorded and available at hhf.org/webinar.)
Nancy Young, M.D., is the Lillian S. Well Professor of Pediatric Otolaryngology and a fellow of the Knowles Hearing Center of Northwestern University, and the medical director of the Cochlear Implant Program, which she founded in 1991, at the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital in
Chicago, where she is also the head of otolaryngology and the medical director of audiology.
A graduate of New York University Medical School, Dr. Young’s primary academic focus is pediatric cochlear implantation, and she is currently investigating the prediction of cochlear implant outcomes based upon preoperative brain structure and function. In addition to a special interest in the implantation of children with multiple disabilities and complex surgical anatomy, Dr. Young also has a special interest in auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder and cochlear nerve deficiency.
“I am very pleased to welcome Sharon and Nancy to our board,” says Timothy Higdon, HHF’s president and CEO. “Each will bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to our organization, and be incredibly valuable assets as we further our commitment to scientific research and prevention. We look forward to their perspectives and contributions to all facets of HHF.”
...And Sincerely Thanks a Board Member Stepping Down
Ruth Anne Eatock, Ph.D.
HHF is truly grateful for the service of Ruth Anne Eatock, Ph.D., a professor of neurobiology and the dean for faculty affairs at the University of Chicago, who has served on HHF’s Board of Directors since April 2017 and is stepping down as of April 2022. “Ruth Anne brought her otolaryngological expertise to HHF, providing us with wisdom and sound judgment where it was needed to help us govern the efforts of our flagship programs— the Emerging Research Grants and the Hearing Restoration Project,” says board chair Col. John Dillard (U.S. Army, Ret.). “Her calm demeanor and strong insightful views helped to guide HHF’s efforts and keep our board members and researchers aligned toward our common goal of preventing and curing hearing loss.”
HHF board chair emerita Betsy Keithley, Ph.D., appreciates the focus Dr. Eatock brought to the Emerging Research Grants (ERG) program. “We saw that Ruth Anne consistently championed the ERG program because, as is true with all of HHF, she recognizes that these young, early career researchers are the stars of the future who will have the ideas and experience to tackle the many different causes of hearing loss.”
Timothy Higdon, HHF president and CEO, expresses thanks for Dr. Eatock’s insights into not only specific research areas but also the nitty-gritty of program administration. “She has been an advocate for the importance of considering the vestibular system, both as a research focus and as an avenue for improving our understanding of the hearing system, which is closely related and very similar to the vestibular system,” he says.
“And we saw she was willing to dive into the details,” Higdon adds, “including working with HHF staff on optimizing making the online call for ERG applications easier to find based on potential applicants’ particular research interests.”
All of us at HHF—the board, scientific advisers, and staff—sincerely thank Dr. Eatock for lending her time and expertise to our mission to prevent, research, and cure hearing loss, tinnitus, and related hearing and balance conditions.
New Video Launched to Mark World Hearing Day
HHF released a new, 60-second video on World Hearing Day, a World Health Organization awareness day that each year falls on March 3. The motion graphics video, titled “Listen Up People,” was created by filmmaker Ben Radatz, a noted visual effects creator who has several movie title sequences to his credit, including for the James Bond film “Quantum of Solace.” Radatz, who is based in Los Angeles, worked closely with HHF’s Keep Listening team of Sandy Alouete, Timea Dancs, Helen Garrett, and Rob Grobengieser.
The short-form video anchored HHF’s World Hearing Day outreach and gained notable celebrity and musician attention, with social media shoutouts from Yoko Ono, Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine), Jeff Ament (Pearl Jam), Kathy Valentine and Gina Schock (The Go-Go’s), Darryl McDaniels (Run-DMC), KT Tunstall, Lyle Preslar (Minor Threat), Melissa Etheridge, John McLaughlin, and Nandi Bushell. Collectively and even individually these artists have millions of followers on social media.
As part of HHF’s Keep Listening campaign, the new video helps amplify our effort to create a major culture shift in how people think about hearing health and hearing protection. “Listen Up People” complements the short-form “Grenades” video created by Chicago agency The Escape Pod, and our realpeople videos by L.A. multimedia production company PICROW. All continue to generate interest as public service announcements on broadcast TV. Keep Listening is sounding the alarm about the risk of hearing loss and tinnitus from excess noise exposure. In the same way we now know of the cancer risks from secondhand smoke or too much sun, HHF wants people of all ages to be aware of the dangers of listening too loud and too long, and to take steps to protect the hearing you have, for life. Keep Listening’s message is that simple habit changes can lead to lasting, positive health effects: Be aware of your daily noise exposure; carry and wear earplugs for loud environments; take listening breaks to rest your ears; and advocate for quieter shared spaces. To learn more and watch the videos, please visit hhf.org/keeplistening.
Jeff Ament of Pearl Jam recorded a video for World Hearing Day in a post that tagged HHF and earned nearly 18,000 views.
