Hearing loss is a major issue that affects more than 38 million people in the U.S., according to the National Institutes of Health. But researchers studying the issue are concerned cuts from the Trump administration could hamper recent innovations to improve, or restore, hearing.
More than 200 academics gathered at a national conference hosted by Northeast Ohio Medical University in Rootstown on Thursday and Friday to discuss how innovative advancements in restoring hearing loss may be at risk.
An innovative approach using gene therapy to potentially cure deafness impressed researchers, said NEOMED professor Jeffrey Wenstrup.
However, the optimism was clouded by concerns about potential dramatic changes in what the NIH may support鈥攃asting doubt on whether groundbreaking research like this will continue to receive funding.
"We're concerned because all of this work is really devoted and aimed at really a major health problem in the U.S., and here in Ohio," Wenstrup said.
President Donald Trump has vowed to curb government spending, including a focus on federal research grants.
Merri Rosen, a NEOMED associate professor, said the NIH pays the salaries and funds the majority of research at NEOMED鈥檚 Hearing Research Group, a renowned group of faculty pursuing improved understanding of hearing and the brain, as well as treatments for hearing disorders.
鈥�(Applying for an NIH grant is) a very rigorous process and we in this department have been very successful at that process. But that has relied on the funding being there in order to eventually provide the funds for the research to get done," she said.
Rosen added that support for her lab investigating the impact that stress in early development has on hearing may be affected, and that she will know the outcome soon.
Several other NEOMED projects to improve hearing loss are also waiting to hear whether they will receive funding, she said.
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the location for the Midwest Auditory Research Conference. The conference was held in Rootstown, Ohio.
