News

The Hearing Theme will be raising awareness of the burden of tinnitus during Tinnitus Week, as recent research has highlighted the high level of its prevalence within the EU.

Research led by investigators at the University of Nottingham, which was published in The Lancet Regional Health – Europe, showed that approximately 65 million adults in the EU suffer from tinnitus, a figure that is expected to rise significantly over the coming decade. This equates to around one in seven people in the EU suffering from tinnitus.

The study led by Roshni Biswas from the University’s School of Medicine, involved experts from the university, along with those from the Istituto di Ricerche Farmologiche Mario Negri IRCCS in Milan, Herriot-Watt University in Malaysia and the University of Regensburg in Germany.

Tinnitus is a condition experienced where patients hear ringing or other noises in one or both of their ears that other people usually can’t hear. This condition can be moderate or severe, and at its most debilitating, it can affect people’s emotional health and social well-being. At present, there is no cure or approved medications to treat tinnitus, but there are therapies available to help manage the condition.

The aim of the study, which was published in November, was to report a single European-wide estimate for tinnitus frequency and to investigate the effect of individual and country-level characteristics on prevalence.

Nearly 11,500 people were recruited between 2017 and 2018 to take part in a cross-sectional European Tinnitus Survey in 12 EU nations (Bulgaria, England, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Spain). The survey used a set of tinnitus-related questions and response options.

Professor Michael Akeroyd, professor of Hearing Sciences at the School of Medicine and one of the paper’s authors, commented:

“This is the first time that we’ve properly and rigorously measured the scale of how much of a problem tinnitus is across Europe as a whole. Tinnitus can affect people’s mental wellbeing, and as the population grows, and people live for longer, this problem will only get worse.

“We hope that this data can now be used to implement effective treatments and to encourage the appropriate stakeholders across the EU to look at how they can tackle this growing problem.”

Nottingham BRC has long been a leading European centre for research into Tinnitus and BRC investigators are currently recruiting into a study looking at the lived experience of tinnitus in adults who have severe or profound hearing loss.

Dr Derek Hoare, BRC Hearing Theme Lead and a Chief Investigator on tinnitus studies at the Theme, commented: “Tinnitus Week runs from 7-13 February and is an important way of shining a light on this distressing and common condition.

“With the recent comprehensive study which details just how prevalent this condition is across EU countries, we know more than ever how much of a problem tinnitus continues to be. It is crucial that research continues to understand its causes and to develop more effective, personalised and accessible treatments.”

• To mark Tinnitus Week, The Clinical Research podcast will feature an interview with the BRC’s Professor David Baguley, Professor in Hearing Sciences, discussing the condition and the main areas of research focus

• To highlight the importance of hearing research, the BRC is supporting the FOSAC science week which overlaps with Tinnitus week, from 7-16 February. FOSAC, Nottingham Festival of Science and Curiosity – Celebrating Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths is mainly aimed at Key Stage 2 school children aged between nine and 11. The Hearing Theme has shared materials and videos to help the festival and signposted the University of Nottingham’s Ear Facts website.