Help to shape future treatments for hearing loss

Digital hearing aids and other techniques to try and combat deafness have come on leaps and bounds in recent years.

There have been huge strides made in reducing the impact of hearing loss as much as possible and this has been down, to a certain extent, to fundraising efforts and input from the deaf and hard of hearing community.

Many of those who suffer from the condition find it helpful to focus their experiences on helping scientists and doctors come up with new technologies.

This helps in a therapeutic sense in that something good comes out of the problem while it also benefits in a literal fashion because it can assist future generations of sufferers.

Charities such as Action on Hearing Loss (AOHL) are always on the lookout for assistance, be it in terms of fundraising for future studies or volunteering and taking part in surveys or studies.

When it comes to the latter, even taking a small amount of time to input your views and experiences can have a massive impact on treatment in the future, especially, it seems, if you are from an ethnic minority.

AOHL has called recently for those who suffer from hearing loss or tinnitus, and are from such minorities, to take part in a new research panel.

Director of Research at the charity, Roger Wicks, said: "There is little research about the impact of deafness, hearing loss and tinnitus on people from the UK’s diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds.

"Our research panel is a great opportunity for people with hearing loss or tinnitus from different communities to help shape our future work by highlighting the vital issues affecting their everyday lives."

Not only does taking part in these panels help to shape future treatment, it can also be a real release for those who suffer with such issues too.

The idea of something positive coming out of this condition often acts as a boost for people and is something that should be seriously considered.