Charity hopes Prince Andrew's visit triggers more investment into hearing loss research

Action on Hearing Loss hopes a visit by the Duke of York to two of its research projects on hearing loss will help raise awareness of “this largely-ignored area of health research”.

Prince Andrew, patron of the charity, met with biomedical researchers at University College London’s Ear Institute to discuss a new investigation into the impact of loud noise on fruit flies, which share molecular and mechanistic overlap with hearing in vertebrates. He also looked at a study into the nerve fibres of the inner ear to enable future refinement of cochlear implants.

Action on Hearing Loss’ chief executive, Paul Breckell, said: “We are delighted that High Royal Highness has been able to visit our work today and sincerely hope that his support will help raise awareness of this largely-ignored area of health research. Currently, there are no treatments or cures for hearing loss or tinnitus, despite the increasingly large number of people, both old and young, who suffer from these conditions.

“Hearing loss, if undiagnosed or mismanaged, can increase vulnerability to social isolation, depression and reduce employment opportunities. Investment in research to prevent hearing loss and restore hearing has the potential to not only improve the quality of life for millions of people across the UK, but save the economy millions of pounds.”

Lack of investment in treatments and cures for one of the UK’s most common health conditions is costing the NHS more than £200m a year, according to the charity Action on Hearing Loss (formerly RNID).

One in six people have some form of hearing loss, with this figure expected to rise by 50 per cent in the next two decades - putting hearing loss in the UK’s top 10 disease burdens, above cataracts and diabetes.

Yet, for every person with hearing loss, just £1.34 is spent on research: ten times less than sight loss (£14.21) and a fraction of the spend on diabetes’ research (£21.31).

Public and not-for-profit organisations, such as Action on Hearing Loss, fund almost half of health-related research, offering crucial investment in discovery research and preclinical development; with private and pharmaceutical organisations funding the remainder. However the gap between research findings and clinical application means that, of the 7,500 drugs in development worldwide, only 18 are marked for hearing problems.

To find out more about biomedical research or the charity’s work into treatments and a cure for hearing loss, please visit actiononhearingloss.org.uk/your-hearing/biomedical-research