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Pioneering research centre launches in Nottingham
Ref: DRUK0276 – Nottingham ACE www.deafnessresearch.org.uk
Press enquiriesFor Deafness Research UK: Jon Gardner, BeyondPR. www.beyondpr.co.uk Mobile 07930 697773. Direct line 0114 275 6996. e-mail: jon.gardner@beyondpr.co.uk
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 info@deafnessresearch.org.uk
- 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.
It is anticipated that new research could help deliver drugs to help with tinnitus and hearing loss and these may go hand in hand with cognitive-enhancing drugs that could help older people to listen more effectively, all exciting areas of research the new ACE centres will address in the years ahead.
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ENDS “The university is delighted to be working with Deafness Research UK on this initiative,” said Deb Hall, Professor in Cognitive Neuroscience at Nottingham Trent University. “Our National Biomedical Research Unit in Hearing has already made some real advances and being joined by new researchers funded by the charity will be essential in ensuring the centre continues its ground breaking work in its field - underlining not only the quality of our academic research, but the value of this to the UK population as a whole.”The ACE initiative builds on the success of the UCL Ear Institute Appeal in London, which raised £1 million in 2006 towards cutting-edge hearing research. It will expand hearing research teams to four other state-of-the-art research centres across the country – in Cambridge, Manchester, Nottingham and Sheffield. The ACE in Nottingham will tackle tinnitus and hearing loss, but as at the Ear Institute, a key priority is to stimulate the multi-disciplinary, collaborative approach that is so important to making progress in hearing research and on delivering real clinical benefit.Prior research by scientists has indicated that tinnitus may be caused by the brain “reorganising” the way it hears sound as a result of hearing loss. To discover if this holds true for humans, ACE scientists will use the latest sophisticated techniques, including functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to pinpoint areas of the brain that respond to sound stimuli and asses the brain’s responses. This will include the use of ‘Brain Voyager’ a remarkable software package developed for mapping and analysing brain activity; and all made possible by charitable funding.Staffed by some of the UK’s world leading tinnitus researchers, these specialists will work alongside the research unit’s existing hearing experts to create a dynamic institution capable of putting tinnitus under the microscope like never before. While the initial projects will focus on hearing aids, the centre aims to better understand tinnitus and its causes, so will look to identify prevention methods, refine existing therapies while also proposing new treatments. Currently tinnitus remains a little understood condition and has few treatments and no known cure; the new centre will focus its initial work on hearing aids, because 97% of audiologists in the UK currently prescribe them as a treatment for tinnitus, yet no systematic, respected research exists for their effectiveness – something this new cutting edge research centre hopes to address.Vivienne Michael, Chief Executive of Deafness Research UK, said: “Our new Auditory Centres of Excellence will be invaluable in enabling us to deliver the results the deaf community deserves. Our aim is nothing less than helping to find a cure for tinnitus, but this can only be achieved if research continues to be funded in a sustainable way, enabling us to continue recruiting the brightest young researchers and supporting them throughout their careers. The new Deafness UK ACE appeal aims to fund not just this centre in Nottingham, but five outstanding research groups to undertake world leading research into hearing loss.” Tinnitus is a constant ringing, buzzing or pounding in the ears and can have a massive and overwhelmingly negative impact on people’s lives, while placing a substantial burden on the healthcare system. Current research suggests that 10% of the UK population suffer from tinnitus - a staggering five million people and of these, only 20% ever consult a doctor or audiologist. Launched by national charity Deafness Research UK in conjunction with Nottingham Trent University and the University of Nottingham, this Auditory Centre of Excellence (ACE) will be based at the National Biomedical Research Unit at Ropewalk House in Nottingham. It will open with an initial three year pilot investigation into how and why hearing aids have been (anecdotally) reported to alleviate some of the symptoms of tinnitus.
