by Stéphane Maison,
Director, Mass Eye & Ear Tinnitus Clinic
Associate Professor of Otolaryngology, Harvard Medical School
Principal Investigator, Eaton-Peabody Laboratory

Introduction by Prof Vered Aharonson,
Programme Lead, Digital Healthcare,
University of Nicosia Medical School

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

Many patients report hearing difficulties despite having ‘normal’ hearing tests. This lecture will explore the concept of hidden hearing loss and its implications for tinnitus and broader sensorineural disorders.

This talk will highlight limitations in current diagnostic approaches and examine the gap between measurable physiological signals and patient-reported symptoms. It will discuss emerging perspectives from auditory neuroscience, clinical practice, and translational research.

Relevant across disciplines, this lecture will be of interest not only to audiology and ENT but also to neurology, primary care, public health, and researchers working on patient-centred care, diagnostic uncertainty, and complex health conditions.

This event is part of an Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility (ICM) academic exchange programme.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Dr Maison is an Associate Professor of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery and Director of the Mass Eye & Ear Tinnitus Clinic at Harvard Medical School. He is also a Principal Investigator of the Eaton-Peabody Laboratories at Mass Eye and Ear and a clinical audiologist. As an auditory physiologist, he studies the peripheral auditory system and has published more than 45 peer-reviewed papers in the field.

Dr Maison trained as a neuroscientist in Lyon, France, where he received a BS in Biology, an MS in Physiology, and a PhD in Neurosciences. He subsequently completed a postdoctoral fellowship in auditory physiology at Harvard Medical School and earned his Doctor of Audiology degree from Northeastern University.

In 1999, he joined the Eaton-Peabody Laboratory at Mass Eye and Ear under the mentorship of Dr Charlie Liberman. After two decades investigating the mechanisms of hearing loss in the laboratory, he shifted his focus toward translational research aimed at developing improved diagnostics, treatments, and potential cures for patients experiencing tinnitus, reduced sound tolerance, and difficulty hearing in noisy environments.

Building on nearly 20 years of research on sensorineural hearing loss in animal models, Dr Maison now investigates these questions in human subjects within a clinical context. His research focuses on:

1. Identifying hidden hearing loss (cochlear synaptopathy) in patients with ‘normal’ audiograms;
2. Determining whether tinnitus results from cochlear synaptopathy; and
3. Developing therapies to restore speech intelligibility in challenging listening environments.