Ear, Nose and Throat Conditions: Research
(asked on 10th February 2025) - View Source
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what the total amount of Government investment into otitis media with effusion research was in 2023-24; and which public bodies provided that investment.
Answered by
Feryal Clark
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) invests £1.5 billion per year on health research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). We are committed to funding timely research that leads to improved outcomes for patients and the public and makes the health and social care system more efficient, effective and safe. Research evidence is vital for improving treatments and outcomes for people, including those who experience hearing problems and tinnitus
Over the past five financial years (2019/20 – 2023/24), the NIHR has invested £3.3 million across 14 studies on these research topics directly through NIHR research programmes, with a further £1.1 million invested in career development and capacity for new hearing loss researchers. NIHR allocated £47,943 for research concerning otitis media and otitis media with effusion research in the financial year 2023-24.
UKRI delivers a substantial portfolio of researcher-led projects. This includes biological, physiological, and mechanistic aspects that are applicable to many ear conditions. UKRI’s Medical Research Council (MRC) also plays a key role in funding underpinning research which may not be attributable to a specific condition but will benefit medical research more generally.
MRC funds Doctoral Training Partnerships, a range of postgraduate training, in 2017-2024, MRC awarded £106, 564 for injury in blast-induced hearing loss and tinnitus research. In 2022 MRC also committed £1,014,670 for age-related hearing loss research, this project is active until 2025.
MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit in Cambridge, supports two programmes of work that investigate the neural and cognitive mechanisms of hearing and speech (https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=MC_UU_00030%2F4 and https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=MC_UU_00030%2F6), as well as providing funding in 2023/24 for research into the different types of hearing loss https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=MR%2FX019217%2F1.