We have more exciting research news at RestorEar!

Last week, our clinical trial for patients receiving cochlear implants began recruiting participants. Now, we have another brand new study that will begin recruiting shortly.

You may remember that we received an award from the National Institutes of Health last spring to begin a new study. This project, titled “Non-Invasive System to Deliver Therapeutic Hypothermia for Protection Against Noise-Induced Hearing Loss”, will investigate the use of mild therapeutic hypothermia for the preservation of sensory structures in the inner ear after noise exposure. The research will focus on firefighters, who are occupationally at-risk for extreme noise exposure and noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL).

 The main aims of the study are:

1. To test the safety of a wearable hypothermia device.
2. To determine if the hypothermia device helps decrease noise-induced hearing loss in a group of firefighters. 

Participants will wear the hypothermia therapy devices immediately after a fire service shift, serially over a year. Researchers will compare results from those receiving the therapy to those from a control group.

For the past several years, our research collaborators have partnered with the South Florida Fire Services to conduct research on occupational noise exposure among firefighters. We are excited to continue expanding this collaboration in order to bring potential solutions to an occupationally at-risk population.

To learn more about the study, check out our Clinical Page.