FAQ

Hough Ear Institute is a non-profit 501(c)(3) medical research organization working on therapeutics to restore hearing, educate our community on the importance of hearing health, and provide much-needed resources to build specialized ear clinics in areas where none are accessible.

No. Hough Ear Institute is a non-profit medical research institute that does not see patients. There are, however, two clinics that operate in our building staffed with some of the best otologists and audiologists in the region: SSM Health Otology and Audio Recovery, Inc.

As previously mentioned, we are not a clinic and do not handle patient information. You need to contact SSM Health Otology and/or Audio Recovery, Inc. for any and all hearing healthcare related issues.

For a complete rundown of all our technologies, click here. You can navigate to this link by clicking the “What We Do” tab at the top of our homepage.

Neither of our therapeutics are currently in clinical trials. The best way to stay informed about when and where those clinical trials will take place is by signing up for our newsletter.

We do not maintain a database of possible patients for clinical trials. To sign up to be part of any clinical trial, you must visit clinicaltrials.gov, find the study in which you wish to participate, and apply there. We will announce the name of the study testing our therapeutics and where it is taking place in our newsletter, but beyond that, HEI has no involvement with clinical trials due to conflicts of interest.

Medical research of innovative, first-in-class technologies is filled with a lot of uncertainty and red tape which can slow down even the most promising medicines. HEI is responsible for the preclinical research and development of our technologies and when they are ready for clinical development, they are passed on to pharmaceutical and/or commercialization partners with expertise in getting through clinical trials. We have no control over the timeline once we license our therapeutics to those partners.

All our preclinical research indicates both NHPN-1010 and AOK-1 are extremely promising, but we can’t be sure they work until we test them in human clinical trials.

Fill out the contact form by clicking here or navigating to the Contact Us page of our website.

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Available to donors ages 70 ½ and older. Donors can transfer up to $100,000 directly from an IRA to HIE as your charity of choice. The benefit is the donor does not account for funds as income and is able to make charitable contributions and without a penalty or capital gains.

A Donor Advised Fund acts like a personal savings account for charitable purposes. Typically held at a community foundation or large financial institution, you have an option of designating to HEI as your charity of choice.

A gift to HEI through a charitable gift annuity (CGA and CRT) provides lifetime payments to you (or a recipient of your choosing). The income you receive is partially tax-free, making this a great option for donors wishing to maintain a steady stream of income. You will receive fixed income for the rest of your life. Not only will you receive an immediate tax deduction, but you may also avoid certain capital gains taxes on a portion of your gift.

You may choose to name HEI as the beneficiary and irrevocable owner of an insurance policy or retirement plan. The donor must agree to pay any future premium payments owed on the policy.

Donating mineral interests to HEI. If the interest meets certain criteria, it can be given as an outright gift to HEI or be included as part of your estate plans. All donated mineral interests will be held in perpetuity.

‍Donors may give real estate/property as an outright gift to HEI or include it as part of a will or trust. A donation of real estate may avoid certain capital gains tax on its sale, and maybe eligible to receive a sizeable tax deduction. The value of your gift will be based on an appraisal and the property’s fair market value.

Donors may give stocks, bonds, and mutual funds to HEI. The stocks will be sold, and the tax-deductible donation will be based on the full market value at the time of the sell and potentially avoid capital gains.

Stock transfer information to HEI:

DTC #: 0141 with Code: 40

Account #: 5124-9228 at Charles Schwab

Name: Hough Ear Institute

EIN #: 73-1507929

Please notify the Development Department at HEI so we can properly acknowledge your gift of stocks/bonds and confirm the transfer of securities to HEI, as the financial institution often does not provide the donor’s information during such a transaction.

You can donate a car, truck, RV, or boat to HEI, whether it is running or not. It will be picked up directly from you and, processed and appraised by a HEI representative. You will receive the amount of donation based on the appraised blue-book value.