AT the moment more than 10 million people in the UK – many of them here in East Lancashire – experience deafness and, for the vast majority, there is no cure.

For people who suffer from hearing loss as they get older, or deafness brought on by noise, hearing aids and cochlear, implants are the only answer.

So, news from the US that we could ‘cure’ deafness by regenerating the ‘hair’ cells essential for hearing is encouraging.

However, there is still some way to go before we have a drug that will prevent or reverse deafness. We need to understand why, although the researchers showed a substantial increase in the number of hair cells, this only translated into a slight hearing improvement.

We also need to bear in mind that this research involved a quite extreme case of hearing loss and it remains to be seen what effect this might have on more common, milder forms of hearing impairment.

One thing we do know is that, given the potential that research holds to improve the quality of life for so many millions of people, the current research spend of less than £2 per year for every person affected by hearing loss is simply not enough. These results show just how important it is to increase that investment in the kind of breakthrough science that could transform lives.

Vivienne Michael chief executive, Deafness Research UK