The National Organization for Hearing Research Foundation is a tax-exempt, non-profit public charity under IRC Section 501(c)(3) and is registered in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Incorporated in Pennsylvania in 1988 by Geraldine Dietz Fox, NOHR Foundation was established in order to fund and support medical research into the causes, preventions, treatments and cures for hearing loss and deafness.

NOHR Foundation grants target innovative projects designed to increase scientific knowledge in the area of hearing disorders. Because hundreds of diseases, conditions and syndromes are known to be implicated in cases of hearing loss, interdisciplinary cooperation is strongly encouraged. Research into the possibility of regenerating the sensory cells of the inner ear, for example, requires the collaboration of neurologists, biochemists, geneticists, and molecular biologists, among others.

Applications and proposals are reviewed by a specially appointed committee of auditory scientists, who are selected to represent the broad spectrum of subspecialties in auditory science and who are themselves among the finest researchers in the field. Grant recipient institutions are required to demonstrate exceptional caliber in personnel, facilities and programs. A report on the project and an accounting of funds is required at the end of the funding period, and annually if the project exceeds one year. Other than those exceptions made at the discretion of the foundation, projects are generally funded for a period of one year.

NOHR Foundation funds all proposals judged by its Scientific Review Committee to be worthy of its support and uses no part of donations for its operational expenses.