Funding opportunity
The Hearing Health Foundation (HHF) 2027–2028 Focused Discovery Awards — Type 2 are competitive Emerging Research Grants supporting scientific research at eligible United States institutions. Eligible research: Tinnitus research only; this specific award track is restricted to research addressing tinnitus and is not an unrestricted hearing science competition.
Individual applicant funding and application deadlines
The individual grant maximum is $70,000 for an initial project year. A second funded year can be requested only after satisfactory progress and HHF approval; the total potential two-year applicant funding ceiling is $140,000. Renewal is not guaranteed. An overall program funding pool is not published. Letters of intent are due December 7, 2026; the official public instructions do not specify an exact cutoff time or time zone. Applicants invited in January 2027 must submit full proposals by April 5, 2027. The grant year begins October 1, 2027.
Eligible organizations and applicants
Researchers at any career stage, with an Au.D., M.D., Ph.D. or equivalent and appointment at a qualifying U.S. nonprofit university, governmental research institution, medical school or research organization. Eligible appointments include faculty, postdoctoral and clinical/research fellows, and otolaryngology residents. Ph.D. students, residents outside otolaryngology, and researchers employed by non-U.S. institutions are ineligible. The grant must be administered by an eligible U.S. nonprofit, tax-exempt institutional host. Applicants should confirm they satisfy grant-policy and institutional requirements.
Funding restrictions, allowable costs and match
The program permits qualified direct research expenditures such as lab personnel, essential equipment and supplies, up to $2,500 each for eligible conference travel and open-access publication costs. PI/co-investigator salaries are ordinarily excluded. The maximum institutional indirect-cost allowance is 10% of direct costs and must fit inside the annual award maximum. The funder excludes routine living expenses, most tuition costs, excess overhead, and substantive subawards or subcontracts. Generic equipment below $5,000 generally requires advance justification/approval. No across-the-board mandatory applicant cost share is stated in the controlling policy. Awardees must comply with approved budgets, institutional fiscal requirements and reporting obligations.
Official application process
Read the current 2027–2028 funder grant instructions and October 2026 Emerging Research Grants Policy. Submit a Letter of Intent through ProposalCentral using the correct program ERG – Type 2 Focused Discovery Awards. HHF permits applicants to apply for more than one award type when eligibility and subject match, but LOIs submitted under the wrong ProposalCentral program are not considered. Full application is invitation-only after LOI review. Review all official application forms, host-institution approvals, project plan and budget requirements before submission.
Source verification date: November 6, 2026. Funder: Hearing Health Foundation.