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Hearing loss costs the UK £13.5 billion, warns RNID - 14 November 2007

Hearing loss costs the UK £13.5 billion in lost earnings each year but just 0.1 per cent of that sum - £16.5 million - is spent on research that could help people to hear, RNID is revealing ahead of a major national conference it is holding on hearing research today (Wednesday 14 November 2007).

The charity will warn delegates at the ‘Hearing the Future’ conference, organised by RNID for the UK’s 9 million deaf and hard of hearing people, that drastic under-funding threatens the development of life-changing treatments.

And with hearing loss the third most common chronic condition in older people after arthritis and high blood pressure, RNID says pharma companies are missing out on a potential drug development market worth 1.5 billion dollars.

The charity is calling on drugs companies and voluntary and public sector science funders to change the lives of millions of deaf and hard of hearing people by investing in research to prevent or treat hearing loss – and end the social withdrawal, isolation and depression it causes.

Dr Mark Downs, RNID’s executive director of technology and enterprise, said: "The cost of hearing loss to the UK economy is billions – the cost to people’s quality of life is immeasurable. And with an ageing population and high levels of social noise, the problem is set to increase.

"Hearing loss represents a massive untapped opportunity for pharmaceutical companies, who could transform lives and access a 1.5 billion dollar market by devoting more time and funds to hearing research.

"Support from public, voluntary and private sector research funders is vital to turn promising research into practical benefits for the millions who struggle to hear their friends, family and the world around them."

Dr Jonathan Gale of UCL’s Ear Institute, said: "Despite significant progress in this field in the last few years we still have a long way to go to restore people’s hearing using biological approaches.

"Critically, more research is needed to gain a better understanding of how the ear is built during normal development, how it responds to damage and what changes occur in the ear during ageing.

"All of these require high quality fundamental research and, of course, funding. With appropriate levels of funding the future for people that want to prevent hearing loss and restore 'lost' hearing is bright."

RNID’s Hearing The Future conference takes place on Wednesday 14 November 2007, 10am – 4.30pm the BT Auditorium, Newgate Street, London EC1A 7AJ. Further information on speakers is below.

For a full programme or for interview opportunities please contact Helen Bird in the RNID media office on helen.bird@rnid.org.uk, 020 7296 8139 or out of hours 07944 038 635.

Notes to editors:

The estimated cost of hearing loss in the UK in 2004 was £13.5 billion [‘Evaluation of the social and economic costs of hearing impairment’, October 2006, Hear-It AISBL]. In 2004/05, £16.5 million was spent by the UK’s main funding organisations on hearing research [UK Clinical Research Collaboration, May 2006] – 0.1 per cent of £13.5 billion.
Hearing loss is the third most common chronic condition in the older population in the USA [http://www.pamf.org/health/toyourhealth/hearingloss.html].
Hearing loss drug therapy market value estimated at $1.5 billion for USA and Europe [RNID Presbycusis market report, 2004].
Cohen et al, ‘Primary care approach to hearing loss’ [Ear, Nose and Throat Journal, 2005] found that hearing loss damages physical and psychological wellbeing, causing isolation, depression and social withdrawal.
Pharma Projects found that as of April 2007, hearing accounts for just 0.2 per cent of the drugs being developed by the pharmaceutical industry for therapeutic use – with 18 drugs in development for hearing loss and tinnitus out of a total of 7,406 across all areas [www.pharmaprojects.com].
RNID is grateful to BT for their generous provision of a venue and facilities for the Hearing the Future conference.
RNID is the largest charity working to change the world for the UK's 9 million deaf and hard of hearing people. We do this with the help of our members by campaigning and lobbying, raising awareness of deafness and hearing loss, providing services and through social, medical and technical research. For further information visit www.rnid.org.uk (external link).
For the ‘Hearing the Future’ conference programme, contact the RNID media office. Speakers include:

Dr Jonathan Gale, Ear Institute, UCL - Can we biologically restore hearing?
Kate Harrison, author and freelance journalist and bilateral hearing aid wearer – my experience of hearing loss and dealing with the stigma of wearing hearing aids aged under 40.
Professor Alan Palmer, MRC Institute of Hearing Research - How the ear and the hearing system work: where things can go wrong and what we know about tinnitus.
Denis Campbell, Observer health correspondent – Noise induced hearing loss is the largest preventable form of hearing loss, What can the media do to prevent a hearing loss time bomb? What are the issues around reporting on public health stories?
Nick Maes, travel writer and broadcaster, bilateral hearing aid wearer and tinnitus sufferer – my experience of tinnitus and hearing loss and how the medical profession treats sufferers.
Dr Bob Carlyon, MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge - How do cochlear implants work? What devices might be available in the future?
Dr David Baguley, Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge, and University of Cambridge - How is tinnitus treated now and will a cure be possible in the future?
Dr Maria Bitner-Glindzicz, University College London Institute of Child Health - What will genetics research tell us?
Dr Mark Downs, executive director of technology and enterprise, RNID – What biomedical research means for deaf and hard of hearing people and those with tinnitus.

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