In 2012, Action on Hearing Loss submitted written evidence to the Parliamentary Committee on Science and Technology.
In that submission they stated: “In 2007–08, less than 1% of the collective spend on research by the Medical Research Council, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and the UK’s medical research charities was directed at hearing research, despite hearing loss affecting more than one in six of the population. That is equivalent to only £1.34 spent on hearing research for every person with hearing loss. This figure compares with £14.21 spend on vision research and £21.31 spent on diabetes for every person affected, both also long-term conditions.”
That was seven years ago, and to date the relative spend on hearing research has not increased.
There have been steps forward. The British Tinnitus Association’s work with the James Lind Alliance Tinnitus Priority Setting Partnership provides hope that future research might be focused on the key questions that need answering. The BTA are also building an economic argument to show the cost of tinnitus to the UK economy.
These are important steps that are needed to show that tinnitus needs more research.
