EX-10.9





 Exhibit 10.9 

Decibel Therapeutics, Inc. 

RESTRICTED STOCK AGREEMENT 

Decibel Therapeutics, Inc. (the “Company”) hereby grants the following award of restricted stock pursuant to its 2021 Stock
Incentive Plan. The terms and conditions attached hereto are also a part hereof. 
 Notice of Grant 

 

			
	Name of recipient (the “Participant”):	  	                                     
       
		
	Grant Date: 	  	
		
	Number of shares of the restricted common stock, $0.001 par value per share (the “Common Stock”) awarded (“Restricted Shares”):	  	
		
	Vesting Start Date:	  	

 Vesting Schedule: 
  

					
	 Vesting Date:
	  	Number of Shares that Vest:	 
		  			
		  			
	All vesting is dependent on the Participant remaining an Eligible Participant, as provided herein.	  


 This restricted stock award satisfies in full all commitments that the Company has to the Participant with
respect to the issuance of stock, stock options or other equity securities. 
  

							
		 		 	Decibel Therapeutics, Inc.
	  
	 		 	
	Signature of Participant	 		 		 	
	  
	 		 	By:	 	
                     
        

	Street Address	 		 		 	 Name of Officer

	  
	 		 		 	Title:
	City/State/Zip Code	 		 		 	













 Decibel Therapeutics, Inc. 

Restricted Stock Agreement 

Incorporated Terms and Conditions 
 For
valuable consideration, receipt of which is acknowledged, the parties hereto agree as follows: 
 1.    Issuance of
Restricted Shares. 
 (a)    In consideration of services rendered and to be rendered to the Company by the
Participant, the Company has granted to the Participant, subject to the terms and conditions in this Restricted Stock Agreement (this “Agreement”) and in the Company’s 2021 Stock Incentive Plan (the “Plan”), an
award of Restricted Shares as set forth in the Notice of Grant that forms part of this Agreement (the “Notice of Grant”) effective as of the Grant Date set forth on the Notice of Grant. 

(b)    The Restricted Shares will be issued by the Company in book entry form only, in the name of the Participant. The
Participant agrees that the Restricted Shares shall be subject to the forfeiture provisions set forth in Section 3 of this Agreement and the restrictions on transfer set forth in Section 4 of this Agreement. 

2.    Vesting Schedule. The Restricted Shares shall vest in accordance with Vesting Schedule set forth in the
Notice of Grant (the “Vesting Schedule”). Any fractional number of Restricted Shares resulting from the application of any percentages used in the Vesting Schedule shall be rounded down to the nearest whole number of Restricted
Shares. 
 3.    Forfeiture of Unvested Restricted Shares Upon Cessation of Service. In the event
that the Participant ceases to be an Eligible Participant (as defined below) for any reason or no reason, with or without cause, all of the Restricted Shares that are unvested as of the time of such cessation shall be forfeited immediately and
automatically to the Company, without the payment of any consideration to the Participant, effective as of such cessation. The Participant shall have no further rights with respect to any Restricted Shares that are so forfeited. The Participant
shall be an “Eligible Participant” if he or she is an employee, director or officer of, or consultant or advisor to, the Company or any other entity the employees, officers, directors, consultants or advisors of which are eligible
to receive awards of restricted stock under the Plan. 
 4.    Restrictions on Transfer. The Participant shall
not sell, assign, transfer, pledge, hypothecate, encumber or otherwise dispose of, by operation of law or otherwise (collectively “transfer”) any Restricted Shares, or any interest therein, until such Restricted Shares have vested. The
Company shall not be required to (i) transfer on its books any of the Restricted Shares which have been transferred in violation of any of the provisions of this Agreement or (ii) treat as owner of such Restricted Shares or to pay
dividends to any transferee to whom such Restricted Shares have been transferred in violation of any of the provisions of this Agreement. 












 5.    Restrictive Legends. 

The book entry account reflecting the issuance of the Restricted Shares in the name of the Participant shall bear a legend or other notation
upon substantially the following terms: 
 “These shares of stock are subject to forfeiture provisions and restrictions on transfer set
forth in a certain Restricted Stock Agreement between the corporation and the registered owner of these shares (or his or her predecessor in interest), and such Agreement is available for inspection without charge at the office of the Secretary of
the corporation.” 
 6.    Rights as a Stockholder. Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, for so
long as the Participant is the registered owner of the Restricted Shares, the Participant shall have all rights as a shareholder with respect to the Restricted Shares, whether vested or unvested, including, without limitation, rights to vote the
Restricted Shares and act in respect of the Restricted Shares at any meeting of shareholders; provided that the payment of dividends on unvested Restricted Shares shall be deferred until, and shall only be paid at, such time as the shares vest. 

7.    Provisions of the Plan. This Agreement is subject to the provisions of the Plan, a copy of which is furnished
to the Participant with this Agreement. 
 8.    Tax Matters. 

(a)    Acknowledgments; Section 83(b) Election. The Participant acknowledges that he or she is
responsible for obtaining the advice of the Participant’s own tax advisors with respect to the acquisition of the Restricted Shares and the Participant is relying solely on such advisors and not on any statements or representations of the
Company or any of its agents with respect to the tax consequences relating to the Restricted Shares. The Participant understands that the Participant (and not the Company) shall be responsible for the Participant’s tax liability that may arise
in connection with the acquisition, vesting and/or disposition of the Restricted Shares. 
 THE PARTICIPANT ACKNOWLEDGES HE OR SHE SHALL NOT MAKE AN
ELECTION UNDER SECTION 83(b) OF THE INTERNAL REVENUE CODE OF 1986, AS AMENDED. 
 (b)    Withholding. The
Participant acknowledges and agrees that the Company has the right to deduct from payments of any kind otherwise due to the Participant any federal, state, local or other taxes of any kind required by law to be withheld with respect to the issuance
or vesting of the Restricted Shares. At such time as the Participant is not aware of any material nonpublic information about the Company or the Common Stock, and is not prohibited from doing so by the Company’s insider trading policy or
otherwise, the Participant shall execute the instructions set forth in Schedule A attached hereto (the “Automatic Sale Instructions”) as the means of satisfying such tax obligation. If the Participant does not execute the
Automatic Sale Instructions prior to an applicable vesting date, then the Participant agrees that if under applicable law the Participant will owe taxes at such vesting date on the portion of the award then vested the Company shall be entitled to
immediate payment from the Participant of the amount of any tax required to be withheld by the Company. The Company shall not remove the restrictive legend described in Section 5 hereof from any shares of Common Stock until it is satisfied that
all required withholdings have been made. 












 9.    Miscellaneous 

(a)    No Right to Continued Service. The Participant acknowledges and agrees that, notwithstanding the fact that
the vesting of Restricted Shares is contingent upon his or her continued service to the Company, this Agreement does not constitute an express or implied promise of continued service relationship with the Participant or confer upon the Participant
any rights with respect to a continued service relationship with the Company. 
 (b)    Participant’s
Acknowledgments. The Participant acknowledges that he or she: (i) has read this Agreement; (ii) has been represented in the preparation, negotiation and execution of this Agreement by legal counsel of the Participant’s own choice
or has voluntarily declined to seek such counsel; (iii) understands the terms and consequences of this Agreement; (iv) is agreeing, in accepting this award, to be bound by any clawback policy that the Company has in place or may adopt in
the future; and (v) is fully aware of the legal and binding effect of this Agreement. 
 (c)    Governing
Law. This Agreement shall be construed, interpreted and enforced in accordance with the internal laws of the State of Delaware without regard to any applicable conflicts of laws provisions. 












 Schedule A 

Automatic Sale Instructions 

The undersigned hereby consents and agrees that any taxes due on a vesting date as a result of the vesting of Restricted Shares on such date
shall be paid through an automatic sale of shares as follows: 
 (a)    Upon any vesting of any Restricted Shares
pursuant to Section 2 hereof, the Company shall arrange for the sale of such number of the Restricted Shares no longer subject to the transferability restrictions and forfeiture provisions under Section 3 and 4 as is sufficient to generate
net proceeds sufficient to satisfy the Company’s minimum statutory withholding obligations with respect to the income recognized by the Participant upon the lapse of the transfer restrictions and forfeiture provisions (based on minimum
statutory withholding rates for all tax purposes, including payroll and social security taxes, that are applicable to such income), and the net proceeds of such sale shall be delivered to the Company in satisfaction of such tax withholding
obligations. 
 (b)    The Participant hereby appoints the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Financial Officer, and
either of them acting alone and with full power of substitution, to serve as his or her attorneys in fact to arrange for the sale of the Participant’s Common Stock in accordance with this Schedule A. The Participant agrees to execute and
deliver such documents, instruments and certificates as may reasonably be required in connection with the sale of the Shares pursuant to this Schedule A. 

(c)    The Participant represents to the Company that, as of the date hereof, he or she is not aware of any material
nonpublic information about the Company or the Common Stock and is not prohibited from entering into these Automatic Sale Instructions by the Company’s insider trading policy or otherwise. The Participant and the Company have structured this
Agreement, including this Schedule A, to constitute a “binding contract” relating to the sale of Common Stock, consistent with the affirmative defense to liability under Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
under Rule 10b5-1(c) promulgated under such Act. 
 The Company shall not remove the restrictive
legend described in Section 5 of this Agreement from any Common Stock until it is satisfied that all required withholdings have been made. 
  

			
	
                          
                                         
                   

	
	Participant Name:
                                         
               
	
	Date: