§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many people are thought to suffer from tinnitus; what proportion of the population they represent; if he will categorise the incidence of tinnitus according to age; and if he will give numbers and proportional figures for those suffering severe tinnitus.
§ Mr. NewtonAbout 15 per cent. of a sample of people aged 16 or over who were interviewed in the 1981 general household survey reported hearing, at some time, noises in the head or ears which could be defined as tinnitus. This gives an estimated total for Great Britain of about 6.4 million people, though in some cases the noise reported was of negligible frequency or duration. The percentages in each age group were:
percentage 16 to 44 12 45 to 64 16 65 and over 20 There is no precise definition of severe tinnitus, but 19 per cent. of those who reported hearing noises said they heard them every day, or nearly every day, for all or most of the day. For Great Britain this would represent a total of about 1.2 million people.
§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the estimated cost to the National Health Service of treating tinnitus in each of the past five years; and if he will give the number of maskers that have been supplied by the National Health Service.
§ Mr. NewtonThere is no readily available information from which the cost to the National Health Service of treating tinnitus could be estimated. The total number of maskers supplied by health authorities is not recorded centrally, but they have been provided to some 600 patients, at three centres, as part of a recent field trial funded by the Department. The purpose of this is to provide information about the effectiveness of maskers, and the report of the trial is expected towards the end of this year.
§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how much money has been spent by his 348W Department on research into tinnitus in each of the past five years; and if he will list the research projects giving details of their progress.
§ Mr. NewtonCosts of research related to tinnitus and the effectiveness of masking techniques, supported from DHSS funds in each of the past five years are as follows:
Year Amount £ 1978–79 Nil 1979–80 Nil 1980–81 32,000 1981–82 16,300 1982–83 16,400 There are two projects. One is an exploratory project into psychological effects of adjustment to subjective tinnitus and the effectiveness of tailored masking, under the direction of Mr. Slater and Dr. Jones at the Institute of Science and Technology, University of Wales. This started on 1 October 1980 and is expected to be completed on 30 September 1983. The researchers will send the final report to the Department after the research has been completed. The second is a multi-centre trial of tinnitus maskers for 600 patients at University College hospital, London (Dr. Hazell), the MRC hearing unit, Nottingham (Dr. Coles) and the Royal National Throat, Nose and Ear Hospital, London (Dr. Stephens). The project started in November 1980 and is expected to end in October 1983. The report is expected at the end of the year. Research into tinnitus itself lies in the field of biomedical research where the main Government-funded body is the Medical Research Council which is supported from the Science Vote of the Department of Education and Science.