The University of California regents on Wednesday approved the construction of a new UCSF hearing institute in San Francisco’s Mission Bay neighborhood that, upon completion in 2029, will consolidate medical care and research for hearing loss under one roof. 

The UCSF Bakar Ear and Hearing Institute will be a five-story, 150,000-square foot building at Nelson Rising Lane and Fifth Street, near UCSF’s other research and clinical facilities. Construction is slated to begin in late 2026.

The new facility will expand UCSF’s ability to treat hearing loss — a common and often under-recognized condition among older adults — as that population grows and research draws new interest to its potential link to dementia. 

“If you look at our demographic, it’s skewing toward an aging population, and the number of adults with clinically significant hearing loss continues to grow,” said Dr. Charles Limb, director of the new institute and chief of UCSF’s division of otology, neurotology and skull base surgery.

Hearing loss is one of the biggest categories of referrals to UCSF ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialists, and has one of the longest waiting lists among ENT subspecialties, Limb said. ENT, or otolaryngology, also treats head and neck cancer, chronic ear disease and other disorders. 

Currently, ear and hearing-related care at UCSF is fragmented, with such components as imaging, vestibular (balance) testing, surgery and physical therapy spread across several different clinics. Consolidating the services in one building will help UCSF see more patients and give them more effective care, Limb said. 

Hearing loss has gotten more attention among providers and the public in recent years, in part  because it’s now recognized as a contributor to dementia risk. In 2020, the Lancet Commission added hearing loss to its list of modifiable risk factors — including vision loss, high cholesterol, diabetes, physical inactivity and social isolation — that account for about 45% of dementia cases worldwide. 

“That research was really important to the field because it put the spotlight on hearing loss not being something to take for granted,” Limb said. “It used to be almost a joke, you expect people who are older to have hearing loss. Now people are very concerned with it.”

The new building is funded by a private donor. UCSF and the donor declined to specify the estimated cost.