New evening tinnitus support group to launch in Northampton as condition affects ‘anyone at any age’

A Northampton charity is launching a new tinnitus support group that will be accessible for all ages.

Deafconnect has run a support group for tinnitus, which is a condition where people hear noises that are not caused by an outside source, during the day for ten years.

But the charity will now trial evening support groups as tinnitus does not only affect older people.

Linda Mitchell, who is the volunteer coordinator for the Hard of Hearing Service that is part of Deafconnect, said: “Tinnitus affects anyone at any age. A lot of the time people assume it’s older people and they are not working so they can access things during the day.

“We ran an evening group for hard of hearing and it was successful so we are trying a tinnitus one as well on a trial basis.

“One of the reasons support groups are important is because tinnitus can cause some people to panic, struggle with anxiety and can completely debilitate their lives.

“It affects everyday life for some people, which causes mental health issues.”

The support groups will be run by volunteers who have knowledge of the guidelines and advice that is issued by the British Tinnitus Association.

Linda hopes the new group will help more people feel less alone with tinnitus.

She added: “Our support groups are for people to know there is help available and that they are not alone.

“There is no cure but there are things that can be done to relieve the symptoms.

“It’s a chance for people to meet others in the same situation.

“It’s about people sharing their experiences, that in itself can be such a relief for people to know they’re not alone in what they are going through.”

The sessions will be held on the first Monday evening of every other month at The Spencer Dallington Community Centre.

The first session will be next Monday (March 2) between 6.15pm and 7.45pm.

Sessions are currently free, but volunteers do ask for donations towards refreshments.