Released on: October 26, 2007, 6:01 am

Press Release Author: BeyondPR

Industry: Healthcare

Press Release Summary: Catherine McGrath of Brighouse in West Yorkshire has been
living with tinnitus for 15 years.

Press Release Body: Catherine McGrath of Brighouse in West Yorkshire has been living
with tinnitus for 15 years. Her mother has it, and so does her sister. Doctors have
warned that her hearing might deteriorate in the future as a result of tinnitus. The
47 year old has learnt to live with the symptom, but she wants funding for research
to find the causes of and cures for the constant noise in her ears.

"I doesn't bother me so much on a daily basis, but it is a constant irritant. It's a
continuous low level white noise, which is worse in my right ear. Some time ago, I
went to the doctor to get a full ear check up, including a hearing test.

"He said that in future the hearing in my right ear would probably deteriorate. The
doctor was nice, but also rather nonchalant. He said there was nothing I could do
about it and that I would have to live with it. That can't be acceptable. I don't
generally like loud sounds, even in the cinema. Maybe that's because of the
tinnitus. So I generally avoid loud volumes, whether it's TV or music." Catherine's
tinnitus also seems to get worse when she's ill.

"I know there are serious illnesses that may assume priority over tinnitus, but
there needs to be research into tinnitus to help the many sufferers who are in limbo
without proper treatments or cures," says the mother of one.

Raising awareness of the symptom is the first step, says Catherine. More people do
know about tinnitus, but much more needs to be done. "I work in a local children's
charity, and I've worked in marketing most of my life. So I know how important
increasing awareness is, as well as the need to raise funds. If there was more
research, perhaps I could find out if tinnitus is hereditary. It is a lot more
common than people think, and we need to find ways to beat it," she explains.

The UK-based charity Action for Tinnitus Research focuses on funding medical and
scientific
research in pursuit of a cure and raising awareness is a key part of its work.
Operations director
Nick Doughty said: "It is estimated that over five million people in the UK are
affected by tinnitus and it can have a devastating effect on their quality of life.
Not enough information is available about the very complex symptom and we are one of
the few organisations determined to do something about it. We are committed to
funding leading edge research and providing practical information to health
professionals for the benefit of sufferers," he added.

For more information on Action for Tinnitus Research, logon to the website at
www.tinnitus-research.org, e-mail help@tinnitus-research.org or telephone 0115 925 4065

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