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National charity Deafness Research UK received a welcome boost ahead of Deaf Awareness Week (28 June 4 July) when Professional Hearing Care and support specialists KIND Hearing agreed to donate £3 to the charity for each person who visits their branch during this week.

KIND Hearing have branches in Kent, Hertfordshire, Wimbledon, Essex and London and everyone is welcome to come into a branch and have their hearing tested and/or an in-depth maintenance check of their hearing aids. This will be done free of charge, and since KIND will donate £3 to Deafness Research UK for everyone who walks through the door, this is a perfect opportunity for people to have a free professional consultation while supporting deafness research in the UK.

Vivienne Michael, Chief Executive of Deafness Research UK, said: We would like to thank KIND Hearing for this wonderful offer. Deaf Awareness Week is one of the few opportunities we have in the year to get our message across and if we can raise more vital funds for deafness research in the process, then the week will have been a great success. We receive no help from the government, so if it were not for the support of the public and generous offers from companies like KIND Hearing, we would be unable to continue our groundbreaking projects and research.

With several new projects underway, the charity needs support more than ever. One of these projects is the new Auditory Centres of Excellence (ACE) initiative. Launched at the charitys silver jubilee in the presence of its patron the Duke of York, these state of the art centres will expand hearing research at five state of the art research centres across the country in Cambridge, London, Manchester, Nottingham and Sheffield.

Each ACE will be tackling the challenge of understanding and treating deafness and hearing impairment in different ways they will also be focusing on stimulating the multi-disciplinary, collaborative approach that is so important to making progress in hearing research and on delivering real clinical benefit to hearing impaired people. The programme will advance research into childhood deafness, improving hearing aids and cochlear implants, treating tinnitus and preventing hearing loss and restoring hearing.

Our new Auditory Centres of Excellence will be invaluable in enabling us to deliver the results the deaf community truly deserves and the donations from KIND Hearing will help us get our ACE appeal off to a flying start, added Ms Michael. Deafness affects one in seven of the UK population, a staggering nine million people, yet there is still less than £2 per person spent on research into deafness each year, so KINDs support is truly appreciated.

KIND Hearing is happy to support Deaf Awareness Week, said Debbie Barnaba, Office Manager of KIND Hearing Ltd. We will donate £3 to Deafness Research UK for each person who visits the branch during Deaf Awareness Week. We have branches in Maidstone, Streatham, Leigh-on-Sea or Ware and everyone is welcome for a free no obligation consultation over tea and biscuits.

Deaf Awareness Week this year sees charities like Deafness Research UK who work with deaf people across the country, coming together with over 100 deaf charities and organisations throughout the country to promote a series of local and national events, of which the KIND promotion is just one example of this in action at a local level.

For information on deafness and deafness-related conditions e-mail info@deafnessresearch.org.uk or visit Deafness Research UKs website at www.deafnessresearch.org.uk For further information on KIND, visit www.kind.com or call the Maidstone branch on 01622 626 988.

ENDS

Photo caption: Vivienne Micheal, Chef Executive of Deafness Research UK

Note to Editors

Deafness Awareness Week
28th June - 4th July 2010 is Deaf Awareness Week when organisations working with deaf people across the country are inviting everyone to 'Look At Me'. The theme aims to improve understanding of the different types of deafness by highlighting the many different methods of communication used by deaf, deafened, deafblind and hard of hearing people, such as sign language and lipreading. Supported by over one hundred deaf charities and organisations under the umbrella of the UK Council on Deafness, Deaf Awareness Week involves a UK wide series of national and local events.
http://www.deafcouncil.org.uk/daw/index.htm


About Deafness Research UK
Deafness Research UK is the countrys only charity dedicated to finding new cures, treatments and technologies for deaf, hard of hearing and other hearing impaired people.
The charity supports high quality medical research into the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of all forms of hearing impairment including tinnitus.
The Deafness Research UK Information Service provides free information and advice based on the latest scientific evidence and informed by leading experts. The Information Service can be contacted on Freephone 0808 808 2222
For more information on research into deafness, tinnitus and other hearing conditions, log on to the website at www.deafnessresearch.org.uk where you can access a wide range of
information. Alternatively you can e-mail Deafness Research UK at info@deafnessresearch.org.uk
One in seven people in the UK almost nine million people - suffer hearing loss.
Deafness Research UK was founded in 1985 by Lord (Jack) and Lady Ashley of Stoke.
In January 2008, Action for Tinnitus Research (ATR) was linked with Deafness Research UK under a uniting direction order under section 96(6) of the Charities Act 1993.

Press enquiries
Jon Gardner, BeyondPR. www.beyondpr.co.uk Mobile 07930 697773. Direct line 0114 275 6996. e-mail: jon.gardner@beyondpr.co.uk

Ref: DRUK073 Payment in KIND for Deafness Research UK

www.deafnessresearch.org.uk