Derek is banking on success in the Brighton Marathon

1 March 2010

A Bank of Scotland Corporate Real Estate manager is looking to deposit some much needed sponsorship money in the coffers of a national charity when he takes part in the first ever Brighton Marathon in aid of Deafness Research UK.

Derek Hunter has always wanted to run a Marathon, and when not working in London spends a great deal of time in Brighton, so when he heard about the city’s first ever Marathon, he decided it was the prompt he needed to undertake his first run, while raising money for a worthwhile cause.

“Brighton is a place I love and I spend weekends there every summer, so I wanted to be a part of the first ever Brighton Marathon,” explained 28 year old Derek. “I have worn hearing aids since I was four, so I thought this was an ideal opportunity to raise money for Deafness Research UK. Hearing Loss runs in my family, so it means a lot to me personally to help the charity in all that they do.” Deafness Research UK is the charity for the deaf and hard of hearing and exists to secure radical improvements in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of all forms of hearing impairment. Relying solely on donations, it is only through the efforts of people like Derek that Deafness Research UK can continue to finance more essential study into deafness.

“I think Deafness Research UK is a very important charity,” continued Derek, “It has always given the highest priority to work which could potentially lead to gene and drug therapy targeted at regenerating hair cells – which is a potential cure for deafness. From my own perspective, the charity continues to support better fitting procedures for digital hearing aids. I am hoping to play my part in promoting the charity as it gets the message across about just how much impact these frustrating disabilities can have on your life.”

“All of us at Deafness Research UK would like to wish Derek every success in the Brighton Marathon,” said Sue Bowcock, Community and Events Manager for Deafness Research UK. “Derek is right to highlight the profound impact deafness can have on a person’s life. It is something we have long recognised and the reason we continue to fund vital research in the hope that we can find new and better ways to support people, while searching for treatments and cures.

The Brighton Marathon will take place on Sunday 18th April and the route allows runners to take in much of Brighton and Hove with glorious coastal views giving everyone taking part a unique experience. Derek is looking to raise at least £1,000 for Deafness Research UK and anyone looking to sponsor Derek’s efforts can do so by visiting his just giving page at www.justgiving.com/Derek-Hunter. Derek’s employer the Bank of Scotland will be matching whatever he makes up to £500, so he is hoping for a minimum of £2,000 for Deafness Research UK.

So for a first run in the first ever Brighton Marathon, does Derek have a target time as well as a target value? “Seeing the finish line is what is important to me!” joked Derek. “Seriously though, a friend of mine ran the London Marathon last year and said it’s an incredible achievement just to finish, but I am hoping for a time between 4.5 and 5 hours.”

For further information, contact 0207 679 8965 or e-mail

Notes to editors

About Deafness Research UK

• Deafness Research UK is the country's only charity dedicated to finding new cures, treatments and technologies for deaf, hard of hearing and other hearing impaired people.
• The charity supports high quality medical research into the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of all forms of hearing impairment including tinnitus.
• The Deafness Research UK Information Service provides free information and advice based on the latest scientific evidence and informed by leading experts. The Information Service can be contacted on Freephone 0808 808 2222
• For more information on research into deafness, tinnitus and other hearing conditions, log on to the website at www.deafnessresearch.org.uk where you can access a wide range of information. Alternatively you can e-mail Deafness Research UK at
• One in seven people in the UK – almost nine million people - suffer hearing loss.
  
• Deafness Research UK was founded in 1985 by Lord (Jack) and Lady Ashley of Stoke.
  
• In January 2008, Action for Tinnitus Research (ATR) was linked with Deafness Research UK under a uniting direction order under section 96(6) of the Charities Act 1993.

Scientific & medical advances

Since its creation in 1985, Deafness Research UK has awarded over £10 million in research grants to secure radical improvements in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of all forms of hearing impairment.

The advances we have been responsible for include:

• the development of the Otoacoustic Emissions (OAE) test to enable doctors to identify hearing impaired babies at birth.
• research into more effective cochlear implant devices and services, including assessment, fitting and rehabilitation procedures for children.
• improvements in signal processing for digital hearing aids in order to help improve speech discrimination and understanding, particularly in noisy environments
• the isolation of genes responsible for many forms of inherited deafness including the most important breakthrough – that mutations in the Connexin-26 gene cause a significant proportion of congenital and childhood deafness
• research into preventing or repairing inner ear damage, including funding researchers who were the first to report that hair cells in the mammalian balance system can regenerate
• the discovery that an overproduction of the neurotransmitter glutamate can be linked to tinnitus, a finding which could lead to new drug treatments for the condition.

Further Deafness Research UK achievements can be found at www.deafnessresearch.org.uk and following the ‘achievements’ button. A direct link follows here: http://www.deafnessresearch.org.uk/Scientific%20%26amp%3B%20medical%20advances+2213.twl

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