Minister for
Veterans, Kevan Jones, praised the work of charities and other key
stakeholders during a symposium jointly organised by the charity
Deafness Research UK and the MoD at the UCL Ear Institute yesterday.
‘A Modern Approach to Noise-Induced Hearing Loss from Military
Operations’ brought together interested parties from the Armed
Forces, the NHS, academic research and the voluntary sector to
share and update knowledge of the science relevant to noise
induced hearing loss.
Speaking at the symposium, the Minister said he was committed to
working with the charity sector to make sure that serving
personnel, veterans and their families were aware of the wide
range of support available to them.
Kevan Jones said:
“The support that our people deserve is out there and we want to
make sure that they can take full advantage of everything that the
MoD and charities such as Deafness Research UK provide.
“I want to make sure that people know where to find this
invaluable support, which is why I launched the Welfare Pathway in
Kent last month – a one stop shop that allows our men and women to
access all the support they need. At this stage it’s just a pilot
scheme but I’m hoping it’s the start of things to come.”
The Minister added that he acknowledged the achievements of the
Defence Hearing Working Group (DHWG), whose members include
representatives from the Royal National Institute for Deaf People
and Deafness Research UK.
He told the conference that in the past 12 months the DHWG had
commenced a hearing study on Royal Marine Units and had introduced
an education package to warn deploying infantry of the dangers of
exposure to noise.
Deafness Research UK's Chief Executive, Vivienne
Michael, said: "Tackling noise induced hearing loss is a
real challenge for the armed forces and this meeting is one step
towards identifying key areas in research and practice that will
improve prevention and management of noise induced hearing loss in
the future. As the UK’s foremost research charity in this field
Deafness Research UK has a particular interest in how we might use
fundamental progress in basic hearing research to inform the
practical solutions to this problem. We also want to begin to
rebuild the practical knowledge, experience and capacity in the
area of noise induced hearing loss which has to some extent been
lost in UK over the last 30 years.
"We are delighted to be working in partnership with
the MoD to help identify and minimise the risk of deafness and
associated hearing conditions, and to offer practical advice and
guidance based on the most up-to-date deafness research."
Anyone worried about deafness or seeking information on
deafness and other hearing conditions such as tinnitus can contact
the Deafness Research UK information line, free of charge, on 0808
808 2222.
Notes to Editors
For further information please contact Roz Britton-Elliott on
0207 218 5903 or dmc-newspersonnel3@mod.uk
Contacts:
Ministry of Defence
NDS.MOD@coi.gsi.gov.uk