Released on: September 26, 2008, 3:41 am

Press Release Author: BeyondPR

Industry: Law

Press Release Summary: Oxley & Coward Solicitors of Rotherham is supporting the UK’s
leading medical research charity for deafness, Deafness Research UK.

Press Release Body: Oxley & Coward is supporting the design and printing of two of
Deafness Research UK’s vital Information Service leaflets – Managing Tinnitus, and
Help for your Hearing Loss.

Oxley & Coward has a strong interest and experience in helping those with
deafness-related conditions via its Industrial Disease compensation service, which
has successfully won millions of pounds worth of compensation for clients over the
years.

Deafness Research UK is the country’s 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. One in seven
people in the UK – almost nine million people - suffer hearing loss.

Geraldine Oliver, Head of Information for Deafness Research UK, said: “Providing
support, information, advice and guidance through our Information Service forms a
fundamental part of our communications strategy, and funding the production of
essential literature like these leaflets is never easy. There is never enough money
to do all the things we would like and we are therefore extremely grateful to Oxley
& Coward Solicitors for agreeing to sponsor our Managing Tinnitus and Help for your
Hearing Loss literature.”

Richard Sheppard, Partner at Oxley & Coward Solicitors, said: “We are delighted to
be able to support the sterling work of Deafness Research UK, and in our small way
assist the ongoing running of the Information Service which provides such valuable
and desperately needed information to those suffering from deafness and other
hearing conditions.

”It will be an extra string to our bow that we can now not only claim compensation
for industrial deafness for those suffering due to no fault of their own, we can
also point them in the direction of Deafness Research UK so they can seek practical
help and advice on how best to deal with their deafness on a day-to-day basis.”

For further information of Oxley & Coward Solicitors, visit www.oxcow.co.uk

A range of additional sponsorship opportunities is available to other organisations
wanting to assist the work of Deafness Research UK. Call Geraldine Oliver, free of
charge, on 0808 808 2222 for further information.

Managing Tinnitus is aimed at people who have recently developed tinnitus, or who
have lived with symptoms for longer and want basic guidance on how to manage their
condition. Tinnitus is often the first sign of damage to the hearing system and can
be the result of prolonged exposure to loud noise. A large proportion of the
leaflets will be distributed to older people who may have tinnitus as a result of
industrial noise or from active service in the armed forces.

Research by Deafness Research UK indicates that large numbers of tinnitus sufferers
were being turned away by their GP or ENT specialist having been told that nothing
could be done to help them. Over three quarters (76%) of people who sought help from
the NHS for their tinnitus had not received any of the generally accepted
treatments, even though they should have been made available. Almost a third were
not even referred to a consultant by their GP.

Help for your Hearing Loss is aimed at older people whose hearing is not as good as
it used to be and who suspect that they should be doing something about it. It will
also help those who have a friend or relative whom they feel might need some
encouragement to seek help. The most common form of hearing loss is that associated
with ageing. Damage to the inner ear can occur over a period of many years. Whilst
the reasons are varied, it is common for older people to have been exposed to
prolonged loud noise in their workplace or from active service in the armed forces.

Currently, three quarters of adults with a hearing loss never obtain a hearing aid
and those who eventually do so put up with declining hearing for approximately 15
years before seeking help. Yet research shows quite clearly that people who are
fitted with hearing aids early are likely to get more benefit from them than those
who put up with a hearing loss for years before seeking help. ENDS

Notes to editors
For further information on Oxley & Coward Solicitors, visit www.oxcow.co.uk

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 or call the Deafness Research UK Information
Service, free of charge, on 0808 808 2222.



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Ref: OXCOW019 – Deafness Research UK