actiononhearingloss.org.uk
19
Technology and Treatments
In 2015–16 we spent £3.5m developing new technologies
and treatments.
Biomedical research
There are currently no cures for hearing loss or tinnitus – treatment today is largely limited
to hearing aids and cochlear implants. There are no treatments for tinnitus, only ways to
help people cope with it. For so many people, there is a huge need for new treatments and
cures. For that, we need research.
We work with universities, companies and investors to support the development of new
treatments by: increasing hearing research capacity within the UK; making scientific
discoveries; turning discoveries into treatments; and raising public awareness of
hearing research.
“The work Action on Hearing Loss does to support PhD
studentships and early-career researchers is critical.
It’s not easy getting research funding and, so, the more
opportunities there are, the better – particularly when the
research is focused on a specific area.
Just look at what focusing research funding has done for
the treatment of cancer. Now we just need to do something
similar for the funding of research into hearing loss.”
Dr Jonathan Gale
Reader in Auditory Cell Biology, UCL Ear Institute
Our impact
We increased the number of researchers by:
•
funding five new PhD Studentships, one of which is co-funded with Cochlear Ltd.
•
awarding four Pauline Ashley New Investigator awards to support promising researchers
at the start of their careers.
•
funding 11 undergraduates in summer placements within hearing research laboratories,
sparking their interest in research into deafness, tinnitus and hearing loss.
•
awarding nine conference bursaries, worth £8,240 in total, to junior researchers, so
that they could present their research at the prestigious Association for Rese arch in
Otolaryngology Conference in the USA.