HEARING_ISO_ARPA-H-SN-26-154.pdf

Special Notice (SN) ARPA-H-SN-26-154

Proposers’ Day Announcement for Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H)

Health Science Futures (HSF) Office Opportunity: Hearing Enhancement through ARtificially Intelligent

NeurotechnoloGy (HEARING)

I. KEY INFORMATION

Table 1. Proposers’ Day Key Information Proposers’ Day June 8th, 2026 Location Arlington, VA (Hybrid) Website for registration https://solutions.arpa-h.gov/HEARING Registration opens Thursday, May 7, 2026, at 10:30 AM ET Registration closes Monday, June 3, 2026, at 12:00 PM ET for in-person attendance or when capacity is reached, whichever comes first. Virtual attendance will close Friday, June 5, 2026, at 12:00 PM ET.

Technical point of contact Dr. Calvin W. Roberts, Program Manager, ARPA-H, Health Science Futures

Program email https://solutions.arpa-h.gov/Ask-A-Question/ (preferred) or HEARING@arpa-h.gov

Optional proposer deliverables, details below

• One physical poster (to fit within a space measuring 3.75 feet wide by 3.75 feet high)

• One slide, 3-minute lightning talk (In-person only, advanced submission)

• One PDF page “teaming profile” (Proposers' capabilities, research areas of interest, etc.)

II. INTRODUCTION

This Special Notice (SN) is intended to alert the scientific community to a newly approved ARPA-H Program and notify potential proposers of an associated Proposers’ Day (PD). Under the cognizance of Health Science Futures (HSF), ARPA-H is publishing an Innovative Solutions Opening (ISO) for the HEARING program no later than May 7, 2026.

The Health Science Futures Office of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) is sponsoring a Proposers’ Day (PD) for the planned proposer community in support of the Hearing Enhancement through ARtificially Intelligent NeurotechnoloGy (HEARING) program.

Potential proposers are encouraged to attend the optional Proposers’ Day. While PD attendance is not mandatory, ARPA-H is hosting the HEARING PD to achieve the following objectives:

https://solutions.arpa-h.gov/HEARING https://solutions.arpa-h.gov/Ask-A-Question/ mailto:HEARING@arpa-h.gov

• Draw attention of the scientific community to the HEARING technical areas.

• Provide information about the program to potential proposers, including details about the overall program goals, solution summary, and full proposal structure for the forthcoming Innovative Solutions Opening (ISO), and how they might respond to ARPA-H’s forthcoming

ISO.

• Share the intended scope, timeline, and scale of the HEARING program and how the proposers, in collaboration with the ARPA-H team and resources, can accomplish the collective mission of accelerating healthcare outcomes for all Americans.

• Provide a venue for proposers to identify potential collaborators.

The PD will include brief overview presentations by government personnel, a live Q+A session, and a poster session for potential proposers to highlight technical capabilities and promote teaming arrangements. ARPA-H will collect participant questions throughout the event and publish answers to a publicly available Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for the program: https://arpa-h.gov/explore-funding/programs/HEARING/faqs.

Attendance at this event is not a requirement for submission of a solution summary, full proposal, or selection for funding. However, it is anticipated that teaming arrangements will be needed to successfully innovate and integrate the critical technologies necessary to meet the HEARING program goals, and the PD provides an opportunity to meet potential collaborators. Information relayed during the PD will be made available on the HSF Office section of the ARPA-H Opportunities page: https://arpa-h.gov/explore-funding/programs/HEARING as well as SAM.gov.

Advance registration is required. Registration requests will only be accepted from the potential proposer community as participation is not intended for patients, patient advocates, media or a general interest audience.

III. HEARING PROGRAM INFORMATION

While full details of the HEARING program will be provided in the forthcoming ISO, the following is a brief description of the full program. Proposers should refer to the forthcoming HEARING ISO for more details.

Overview

The HEARING program aims to develop a new kind of hearing-assistive platform that directly engages the brain’s hearing centers to improve how people hear in complex, real‑world environments. Many people with hearing loss still struggle to understand speech in noisy places, even when using today’s best hearing aids or implants, because current devices only react to sound in the environment, rather than what the listener is trying to focus on. Furthermore, hearing aids cannot replace missing pieces of sound when the ear or auditory nerve is damaged. This limits everyday communication and contributes to social isolation, depression, and cognitive decline, particularly for older adults, veterans, and workers from high‑noise occupations.

The HEARING program will directly address critical challenges of hearing loss and make meaningful impact to health outcomes through:

1. Enabling safe access to the auditory cortex,

2. Capturing rich real‑time brain signals that reflect what the listener wants to hear, and https://arpa-h.gov/explore-funding/programs/HEARING/faqs https://arpa-h.gov/explore-funding/programs/HEARING/faqs https://arpa-h.gov/explore-funding/programs/HEARING https://sam.gov/

3. Developing algorithms that both read the brain’s intended perception and help fill in missing sound information.

Through this approach, hearing will enable accessible solutions tailored to each person with mild to severe hearing loss using a closed-loop platform capable of:

1. Reading activity from the auditory cortex,

2. Using auditory cortical signals to control sound entering the ear in real time, and

3. Writing back missing information through targeted brain stimulation.

HEARING is designed to shift the paradigm of current care solutions for hearing loss from treatments that focus on the ear alone to solutions that target it as a neurological condition by focusing on the auditory cortex, where the brain separates speech from noise and makes sense of what we hear.

HEARING seeks to reduce the cognitive burden that is required for one to engage in social activities in noisy environments and restore near-natural clarity to everyday sounds.

Technical Areas (TAs):

The HEARING program is comprised of three (3) main TAs:

• TA1 Intracortical Device(s): TA1 will deliver minimally invasive neural interface(s) to key auditory cortical regions, enabling HEARING technologies to be accessible to patients at scale. Approaches may leverage any technology that allows device delivery to target auditory cortex without surgical access through the skull (e.g., no craniotomy or craniectomy). Neural interfaces are not limited to electronic, biohybrid, ultrasound, or other specific modalities, but proposed technologies must be sufficiently mature at the time of award to meet program schedules and milestones. TA1 device(s) must support wireless bidirectional communication with TA2 devices and will be assessed for in vivo performance capabilities (e.g. record and stimulate) and safety as key end-of-phase deliverables.

• TA2 Dynamic Sound Modulator: TA2 will deliver an external wearable device that functions similarly to a hearing aid plus serves as the hub between TA1 hardware and TA3 software.

This device must: (1) Operate within a 16-hour total power budget under read-only conditions, (2) deliver power and support bi-directional wireless communication with TA1 devices, (3) be developed in a form factor that is not a burden to the daily living activities of the patient, and (4) interface with external devices (e.g. smartphones, clinical programming tools) to support optimization and adjustment of hearing performance. TA2 devices will be evaluated, in conjunction with TA1 devices, for sustained operational performance and safety in vivo as end-of-phase deliverables.

• TA3 Auditory Read & Write Algorithm: TA3 will deliver the first auditory brain computer interface (BCI) algorithms capable of both reading from and writing to the auditory cortex while controlling audio signals amplified through the ear via TA2. These algorithms will (1) personalize to individual users by leveraging sensory‑neural profiles to determine how auditory information is shaped in TA2 and (2) control neuromodulation or encode for missing frequencies delivered through TA1 devices, and (3) balance trade‑offs among latency, decision‑window length, accuracy, personalization time and re‑calibration frequency to remain practical in real‑world use.

IV. HEARING PROPOSERS’ DAY INFORMATION

Proposers' Day Participation

This SN and PD include three (3) specific opportunities for prospective proposers to identify team members: posters, lighting talks, and teaming profiles.

Sessions Focused on Opportunities for Teaming

HEARING requires inter-disciplinary teams that propose to all TAs that sufficiently address the goals of the program. The following opportunities will support networking, collaboration, and team formation:

Lightning Talks (Proposers’ Day, In-Person only)

Interested attendees and/or proposers are invited but not required to request one lightning talk per team/organization. Individual lightning talks will be delivered on a single slide, limited to a maximum of 3 minutes. Those interested in presenting a lightning talk will be required to fill out a brief questionnaire and slide template for the presentation, which can be accessed on SAM.gov. The completed questionnaire and slide must be returned to the ARPA-H HEARING Program email (HEARING@arpa-h.gov) by 12:00 PM ET, June 3rd, 2026, regardless of registration date. The number of lightning talks is limited. Selection will be based on a first-come, first-served basis and will be reviewed for compliance and relevance to the HEARING program through the returned questionnaire and slide. Those selected to give a lightning talk will be notified by June 4th, 2026. Interested attendees must identify their intention to give a lighting talk during registration. Lightning talk presentations are restricted to those attending the meeting.

Posters (Proposers’ Day, In-Person only)

Interested attendees and/or proposers are invited but not required to request space for one (1) poster per team that summarizes research interests and/or related technical capabilities. Posters are only intended to facilitate teaming and will not be evaluated by ARPA-H or considered as a part of the proposal. A detailed style guide and further directions pertaining to the poster will be provided upon registration acceptance. Posters should measure no larger than 3.75 ft x 3.75 ft. During the poster session, presenters will be able to stand by the poster, present their work, and answer questions from interested parties. Posters will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis, until the maximum possible number of submissions given the space constraint for the PD is reached, considering relevance and diversity of presenters. Interested attendees must identify their intention to present a poster during registration. Poster presentations are restricted to those attending the meeting.

Teaming Profiles (Virtual)

Interested parties are also invited to submit a ‘teaming profile’ via the link here https://solutions.arpa-h.gov/Teaming/ and below. The teaming profile will describe technical competencies, team capabilities, team composition, research areas of interest, unique facilities and other capabilities, as they relate to the program, and desired technical/other competencies sought from other potential team partners. The profile will include, at a minimum:

https://sam.gov/ https://solutions.arpa-h.gov/Teaming/

• Contact information, including name, organization, email, telephone number, mailing address, and website

• Brief description of the Proposers' technical competencies and relevant facilities

• Desired technical competencies and facilities from other potential team members, if applicable

All teaming profiles must be submitted via https://solutions.arpa-h.gov/Teaming/HEARING, the HEARING Teaming Profile Form Link. The teaming profile will be updated regularly and made available on the program's teaming profile site https://arpa-h.gov/explore-funding/programs/HEARING

Specific content, communications, networking, and team formation are the sole responsibility of participants. ARPA-H does not endorse any participating organization or exercise any responsibility for improper dissemination of the team profiles.

Live Q&A

A live Q&A session will be led by the ARPA-H team during HEARING PD. HEARING PD participants are encouraged to ask questions during this time. The ARPA-H team cannot give feedback on specific technical solutions. Answers to questions asked throughout the event will be made publicly available in the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) in: https://arpa-h.gov/explore-funding/programs/HEARING/faqs and on SAM.gov.

Registration Information

Participants must register in advance through the registration website. The registration will remain open until 48 hours before the start of the event. There is no registration fee for the HEARING Proposers’ Day. Note that there will be no same-day registration. An online registration form and various other meeting details can be found at the registration website: https://solutions.arpa-h.gov/HEARING.

All inquiries should be addressed to HEARING@arpa-h.gov. Please refer to the HEARING Proposers’ Day (ARPA-H-SN-26-154) in all correspondence. Prior to submitting an e-mail inquiry, please check the General Program FAQ’s (https://arpa-h.gov/explore-funding/programs/HEARING/faqs) or SAM.gov to see if your question is answered there.

V. POINTS OF CONTACT

Technical Point of Contact

Calvin W. Roberts, Program Manager, ARPA-H, Health Science Futures

Email: HEARING@arpa-h.gov

All inquiries should reference “HEARING Proposers’ Day (ARPA-H-SN-26-154)” in the subject line of the email.

https://arpa-h.gov/explore-funding/programs/HEARING/faqs https://arpa-h.gov/explore-funding/programs/HEARING/faqs https://sam.gov/ https://solutions.arpa-h.gov/HEARING https://solutions.arpa-h.gov/HEARING mailto:HEARING@arpa-h.gov https://arpa-h.gov/explore-funding/programs/HEARING/faqs

VI. WEBINAR INFORMATION

Virtual attendees will receive the link to the webinar once they are verified and registration is confirmed.

VII. DISCLAIMER

This SN is issued solely for information and potential new program planning purposes; the SN does not constitute a formal solicitation for proposals or solution summaries. Responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding award. Submission of any information in response to the SN is voluntary and is not required to propose to subsequent ARPA-H ISOs or research solicitations on this or any other topic. ARPA-H will not provide reimbursement for costs incurred in responding to this SN. Respondents are advised that ARPA-H is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted under this SN.