Enhanced microscopic image showing sensory hair cells (colored pink) developing in a newborn mouse cochlea.

Study charts developmental map of inner ear sound sensor in mice.

Side profile of a woman’s face as she is speaking. Letters float out of her mouth and into the air.

May is Better Hearing and Speech Month.

(Left image) Debara L. Tucci, M.D., M.S., M.B.A., director of the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), part of the National Institutes of Health (@NIDCDdirector). (Right image) Kelly King, Au.D., Ph.D., research audiologist and program officer at the NIDCD.

Research drives changes to make hearing health care more accessible and affordable.

Health Information

A doctor fits a patient with a hearing aid

Hearing

 A senior woman walks holding a hand rail

Balance
Drinking coffee

Taste and Smell

 Whispering

Voice, Speech, and Language
A stethoscope and a health chart

Health Statistics

 A tween protecting her ears with earplugs

It's a Noisy Planet
More Health

Research

 Scan of brain activity

Funding

 NIDCD grantee conducting research

Training

 Porter Building, site of NIDCD training