Our research

Deafness Research UK has given over £9 million to support medical research into deafness and other hearing problems.

Despite relying entirely on voluntary funding, the results have been dramatic, providing real improvements in the treatments available to hearing-impaired people and developing our understanding of many hearing problems. Thanks to our work, sophisticated new digital processing systems have been incorporated into hearing aids, genes linked to inherited deafness have been isolated and deaf babies can now be identified within hours of birth as a matter of course.

At Deafness Research UK, we recognise that research often requires long-term investment and we have always given high priority to basic research to improve our understanding of how the inner ear works. Since most deaf adults have experienced inner ear damage, this research promises to benefit many millions of people and there are real grounds for optimism that it will ultimately deliver clinical benefits.

Yet there remains a long way to go. Although Deafness Research UK has been instrumental in the development of more effective treatments, conditions such as tinnitus still have no simple 'cure'. The deterioration of the ear which accompanies ageing still leaves more than half of all people over the age of 60 with a hearing impairment, and an increasing number of young people have their hearing permanently damaged through exposure to loud noise.

At Deafness Research UK, we believe that medical research can and will overcome all these challenges - but only with your support. This section explains what research work we are involved with.