Nerea Moreno Herráiz

Emilio Ferreiro 3.9.26
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Nerea Moreno Herráiz (born 1995 in Cuenca, Spain) is a Spanish Deaf nurse and researcher affiliated with the University of Castilla-La Mancha (UCLM). Her work focuses on sensorineural hearing loss, including its risk factors and therapeutic management, an area of study informed by her own experience as a deaf person.

Quick Facts

Early life and education

Moreno was born in Cuenca in 1995 and is deaf[1]. Her academic path was shaped by her hearing difficulties, and she has described it as a constant challenge on the way to the recognition she has since received. She has said that she once doubted she would pass her school-leaving exams (bachillerato), but went on to complete two master's degrees before beginning a doctorate[1].

As a nursing student, Moreno experienced barriers related to the provision of communication support at university. When she requested a sign-language interpreter on starting her degree, she was told that because she spoke well and had always used FM-system support, an interpreter would not be provided to her[2].

Academic and research career

Moreno pursued nursing studies and holds two master's degrees. As of 2025 she was undertaking a PhD and also teaching at university level in the subject of Fundamentals of Nursing, a responsibility she has said she approaches with a degree of "respect" while also seeing herself as someone who can serve as a role model for others. She has said she never originally planned a career in research and teaching, but was encouraged to pursue it by her thesis supervisor, who told her she had potential[1].

Moreno's master's thesis, titled "Eficacia de la aféresis en la remisión de la hipoacusia neurosensorial súbita" ("Efficacy of apheresis in the remission of sudden sensorineural hearing loss"), examined a blood-purification procedure that removes pathogenic components such as LDL cholesterol and fibrinogen from the bloodstream. She chose the topic because apheresis remains little studied in Spain as a treatment for sudden hearing loss[1].

The work earned her the UCLM's first prize for research on disability[1]. A version of the study was subsequently published, as a systematic review and meta-analysis, in the journal Clinical Therapeutics in 2025[3].

Doctoral Research

By 2025, Moreno was pursuing further research into other aspects of hearing loss, including the mental health of people with hearing disabilities following the COVID-19 pandemic and the role of certain genetic polymorphisms in predisposition to deafness — an area she has described as receiving comparatively little research attention or public visibility. She also spent a period conducting research in Porto, Portugal, as part of her doctoral studies, supported by a research-stay grant[1].

Her doctoral thesis, "Manejo de la pérdida auditiva: identificación de factores de riesgo y opciones terapéuticas" ("Management of hearing loss: identification of risk factors and therapeutic options"), was carried out within the UCLM doctoral programme in Sociosanitary and Physical Activity Research. The thesis was defended on 3 September 2026 at the Faculty of Nursing, University of Castilla-La Mancha[5].

Advocacy

Alongside her research, Moreno has spoken publicly about the barriers deaf people face in Spanish education and society[2]. She has argued for greater inclusion of deaf people in education and social life, and has emphasised the importance of asking deaf individuals directly how they prefer to communicate, since not all deaf people use sign language or lip-read[1]. Reflecting on her own path, she has said that people facing similar difficulties — whether in daily life or in academic or professional settings — should hold on to their goals and not let anyone tell them they cannot achieve them, while recognising that there will always be people willing to offer support[1].

Timeline

1995

Born

Nerea Moreno Herráiz is born in Cuenca, Spain.

2025

Master's thesis research published in Clinical Therapeutics

Her systematic review and meta-analysis, "Efficacy of Apheresis in the Remission of Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss," is published in Clinical Therapeutics.

2026

Doctoral thesis defence

Publicly defends her doctoral thesis at the Faculty of Nursing, University of Castilla-La Mancha, in Cuenca.

Videos

References

  1. Del Valle, Alejandro. "'Puedo transmitir mucho y ser una referente para otras personas'." Las Noticias de Cuenca, 17 March 2025.
  2. "Estudiantes sordos piden no tener que elegir entre 'intérpretes o audífonos'." Servimedia, 24 June 2021.
  3. Moreno-Herraiz, N., Saz-Lara, A., Cavero-Redondo, I., Lever-Megina, C. G., Martínez-Cifuentes, Ó., & Otero-Luis, I. (2025). Efficacy of apheresis in the remission of sudden sensorineural hearing loss: A systematic review and Meta-Analysis. Clinical Therapeutics, 47(4), 307-315.
  4. Cavero-Redondo, I., Fonseca, H., Otero-Luis, I., Bohn, L., Lever-Megina, C. G., Moreno-Herraiz, N., & Saz-Lara, A. (2024). Exploring the relationship between trunk flexibility and arterial stiffness measured by pulse wave velocity: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Plos one, 19(12), e0311611.
  5. University of Castilla-La Mancha, doctoral thesis defence record: "Manejo de la pérdida auditiva: identificación de factores de riesgo y opciones terapéuticas." Doctorando: Nerea Moreno Herráiz. Directora: Alicia del Saz Lara. Departamento de Enfermería, Fisioterapia y Terapia Ocupacional. Programa de Doctorado en Investigación Sociosanitaria y de la Actividad Física (RD 99/2011). Defence: 3 September 2026, Facultad de Enfermería (Cuenca).
  6. ORCID record: 0009-0007-5385-1406.
Emilio Ferreiro

Posted by Emilio Ferreiro

E-learning Specialist | PhD student in Health Sciences | Deaf activist | Independent Blogger at Unusualverse

 
       

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