Nottingham's National Biomedical Research Unit in Hearing has been awarded over £6 million by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) for a major 5-year programme of research on effective treatments for hearing loss and tinnitus.

On 18th August 2011, the Government, through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), announced a record £800 million funding to boost research and allow the development of ground breaking medicines, treatments and care for patients.

The National Biomedical Research Unit in Hearing has been successful in securing one of the 31 awards. Through its partnership with the Nottingham University Hospitals Trust, the University of Nottingham and the Medical Research Council Institute of Hearing Research, the funding of £6.25million over 5 years will support research in deafness and hearing problems, including tinnitus (http://www.hearing.nihr.ac.uk/Research/ ) and thus contribute to increasing knowledge among scientists and health care professionals and improving health services for many millions of people.

In total, this is the UK’s largest ever investment in ‘early stage’ health research which will fund advances in diagnosis, prevention and treatment. The partnerships announced today, including Nottingham’s Biomedical Research Unit in Hearing, will collaborate with industry and charities, helping to develop the country’s science and research base and secure the UK as a world leader in health research.

Prof Deb Hall, who lead the application for Nottingham’s Biomedical Research Unit in Hearing, and who is also a Trustee of the BTA, said:

“Nine million people in the UK have significant hearing loss (5 million with tinnitus), yet there is a culture of poor take-up of hearing aids and poor awareness and access to healthcare services.This is an extremely exciting opportunity. This funding will enable us to take important discoveries from basic auditory science and translate them into novel treatments and patient management strategies.

Chief Medical Officer, Professor Dame Sally Davies said:

“The National Institute for Health Research centres and units announced have been selected because of the world class quality of their translational research. By focussing on translational research across a wide range of diseases, the centres and units will help pull new scientific discoveries into benefits for NHS patients. I believe they will make a significant impact on the health of the population.”