Addressing deafness in young people

By Vivienne Michael, CEO of Deafness Research UK

Deafness is a silent disability. In most people it occurs gradually over time and goes undetected until it is too late to do anything about.

Loud noise is one of the main causes of damage to the delicate hair cells in the inner ear that we depend on for hearing and, once these hair cells die, they cannot be repaired resulting in permanent hearing loss. 

One in seven people in the UK, almost nine million individuals, are already affected by hearing loss and the numbers are growing rapidly. Unfortunately many young people today are at risk from deafness, as regular exposure to loud music, especially from MP3 players can cause hearing loss. It is therefore vital that teenagers become aware of the environmental hazards that can damage their ears. 

But simply telling young people about the issues may not change their behaviour. Sometimes teenagers need to be encouraged to generate their own solutions to problems.

That is why Deafness Research UK has decided to launch a competition My Hearing, My Future, with the help and sponsorship of BT. It is for young people in the UK between the ages of 10-18, and the aim is to educate them about deafness, its impact on individuals and their quality of life, and to encourage them to think about their own hearing. We hope it may also persuade some to consider a career in science.

We want young people to help Sonar - Deafness Research UK’s very own Super Hero - in his latest mission to improve the world for those with hearing loss. He wants entrants to consider how science and technology can help people who are deaf.  Can they come up with some new ideas and innovations? 

We want to involve as many young people as possible and entries can be in English or British Sign Language. They can be in any format - from short stories to essays, videos or comic strips - as long as it can be emailed or posted to us, the only limit will be the entrants’ own creativity. The closing date is 20th January 2012.

For information about how to enter please visit http://www.my-hearing-my-future.co.uk/