NIHR Nottingham Hearing Biomedical Research Unit

Description

We are a partnership between University of Nottingham, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust and Medical Research Council Institute of Hearing Research. We are funded by the National Institute for Health Research. We represent the only unit of its kind which is dedicated to applied research into many kinds of hearing-related issues.  We focus on the following themes of research:

•Tinnitus (‘ringing in the ears’ – the sensation of sounds coming from inside the body).

•Support for people with hearing loss (particularly with regards to age-related hearing loss, use of hearing aids and alternative hearing devices)

•Advanced brain imaging and neuroscience, to understand how the brain processes sounds. This is to develop objective measures of hearing loss and tinnitus to inform how we improve patient outcomes

•Cochlear implantation (for profoundly deaf adults and children)

Our vision is to create new knowledge through translational research (research that can result in improvements in healthcare) that will relieve the burden of disability arising from hearing-related problems.

Public involvement in research

We are keen to develop all aspects of public involvement.  Our current focus is providing opportunities for members of the public to have an input into our research funding applications and participant information material.  This is through the process of conducting lay assessments (or reviews). We have established a panel of members of the public who act as ‘lay assessors’. Members of the panel include people with hearing-related problems and people with no hearing-related problems at all. In order to support lay assessors in their activity, we are also leading on developing a training and support programme for lay assessors from across the East Midlands region.  Check back here for updates or see our website.

http://www.hearing.nihr.ac.uk/public