|
DEAFNESS RESEARCH FOUNDATION |
Deafness Research Foundation works to make healthy
hearing possible for everyone through quality research and education. Our
National Hearing Research Grants Center funds research in hearing and
balance science to benefit those living with hearing loss and balance
disorders, and our programs raise awareness of potential causes to protect
those at risk.
Over the
past fifty years, DRF is proud to have awarded over $24 million through more
than 2,200 research grants. We are especially proud of the research we’ve
funded for the diagnosis and treatment of otitis media (middle ear
infections), the cochlear implant, implantable hearing aids, breakthroughs
in molecular biology and hair cell regeneration. In addition, in 1960, the
Deafness Research Foundation created the National Temporal Bone Banks
Program (NTBB) to encourage individuals with ear disorders to pledge their
temporal bones at death to scientific research. This was a crucial step in
the establishment of the National Temporal Bone Hearing and Balance
Pathology Resource Registry by
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD).
Over 37 million adults and over 1 million children in
the United States suffer from some degree of hearing loss. Of adults who
suffer from hearing loss approximately:
- 55% are male
- 45% are female
- 8.4 million are between the ages of 18 – 44 years
- 14.3 million are between the ages of 45 – 64 years
- 6 million are between the ages of 65 – 74 years
- 8.3 million are 75 years and over
These numbers are increasing every year due to our
aging population and young people who damage their hearing without even
knowing it.
In addition to being the leading national source of
private funding for research in hearing and balance science, DRF also
publishes Hearing Health magazine. Our free publication has a
circulation of approximately 31,000 and won an APEX 2008 Award of Excellence
for Magazine & Journal Writing. This valuable consumer resource provides
information on technology, treatment, research and issues affecting people
with hearing loss.
For more information about DRF:
Visit our website at
www.drf.org
Send an email to
info@drf.org
Call us at 212-328-9480 or
Toll-Free: 866-454-3924 or
TTY: 888-435-6104
|
