§ Mr. RookerTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will outline the research sponsored by her Department concerning tinnitus and include information on the number of people suffering from the condition.
§ Dr. MawhinneyThe main agency through which the Government support biomedical and clinical research in the United Kingdom is the Medical Research Council which receives its grant in aid from the office of my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. In 1991 the MRC spent £112,000 on research into tinnitus.
It is estimated that between 0.5 and I per cent. of the population are seriously affected by tinnitus.