Hearing loss

What is hearing loss?

Hearing loss and deafness occur when sound signals can’t reach the brain, due to problems in the hearing system. It is a common issue that often develops with age, or is caused by repeated exposure to loud noises.

The Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID) estimates that there are more than 10 million people in the UK with some degree of hearing impairment or deafness. Despite its prevalence, there are currently no effective treatments or cures for hearing loss or related conditions.

Why is more research needed?

Hearing loss is largely preventable or treatable, but it is becoming ever more prevalent due to both ageing populations and ongoing stigma – which prevents people from getting tested or wearing hearing aids as prescribed.

Hearing loss and related conditions, like tinnitus, can have a considerable impact on wellbeing, leading to smaller social networks and reduced quality of relationships, and in turn, causing depression, anxiety and insomnia.

There is a need to address the growing problem of hearing loss in the UK, and to develop new and more effective treatments for those suffering from it. We are funding several research projects in this area, to understand the biological mechanisms underpinning hearing loss, assess new methods for measuring and imaging the condition, and to gain more insight into its everyday impact on people’s lives.

More research in this field will help to develop early interventions for those experiencing the first signs of hearing loss, support those already living with hearing loss to interpret speech in noisy environments, study the brain’s auditory systems involved in tinnitus, and much more besides.