Video: Prof Deborah Hall explains what tinnitus is
A Nottingham research team studying the hearing condition tinnitus says an increase in the number of people listening to loud music could be contributing to a rise in cases.
The Nottingham Hearing Biomedical Research Unit, based on The Ropewalk, have been carrying out tests in a bid to find a way to treat it the problem.
Sufferers hear ringing, whistling and buzzing sounds in their ears, which can become constant and affect everyday life.
Around five million Britons are now affected to some extent, and in many cases there is no obvious cause or cure.
There is going to be a rise in the number of people with hearing problems
Professor Deborah Hall, director of the unit said: “Our research covers a number of different questions.
“One of the key challenges is how we can best offer really effective treatments for people with tinnitus.
“There aren’t any drugs at the moment that are licensed to get rid of the tinnitus sound but there are quite a lot of different strategies that people can try to help them manage and cope better with the sounds that they are hearing.”
Professor Hall made it clear that listening to music through headphones is bad for your ears, and can bring on the hearing disorder. She advises people to keep the volume down and limit the time they spend listening.
She said more people are now aware of the condition and are more likely to report it, which could also be increasing the number of people coming forward for help.
She said: “The European Union commissioned a report to look at the potential risks of people listening to music too loudly on personal music players.
“That report predicted that there is going to be a rise in the number of people with hearing problems, including tinnitus.
Audio: Some of the noises tinnitus sufferers hear
Paul Webb is a tinnitus sufferer and has had to deal with the ringing in his ears for 22 years.
He said: “To start with, I kept hearing a faint hissing in my ears, particularly when I was in bed and it was quiet.
“Over the years it has got worse and worse and is now quite intrusive on my life.”
Prof Hall added: “Numbers like 50 million people across Europe in the next ten to twenty years might be suffering from problems specifically the result of listening to loud music.
“It could be a really big problem.”
