News
See below for items of interest relating to the Support Group and hearing conditions generally.
How to Lead a Normal Life with your Tinnitus - Lars Henriksson
18 May 2026
The guest speaker at a packed meeting was Lars Henriksson of Tinnitus Management. Lars provides one to one sessions on a private basis to those trying to cope with their tinnitus (see Home – Tinnitus Management). At the Support Group, Lars ran a workshop discussing tinnitus and how people can habituate to it.
During the session, Lars, a musician, explained his history with tinnitus and how at one point he was even told he would never work again. However, Lars overcame it and has since written a book about it.
The session, with a record attendance of 29 people, was very well received by all present, with many asking questions. A supporting document from the session can be found to the bottom of the Support page.
ENT Consultant Q&A at Tinnitus IoW Support Group
23 Mar 2026
The Tinnitus IoW Support Group was very pleased to be joined by Mr Basavaraj, ENT consultant at St Mary’s hospital (IoW), who spoke generally about tinnitus and other related hearing conditions, followed a Q&A session. He, along with Rupert Brown, a professional musician and long time active supporter of the group, then spoke briefly about a sound therapy app they have been developing. Further information on the app will appear on this News web page in the near future.
The Support Group meeting session, which was again very well attended with a number of new faces, began with a wide ranging discussion with Susan again demonstrating her wide breadth and depth of knowledge on hearing related conditions.
Tinnitus Talk at the Unite the Union Branch Meeting
3 Mar 2026
Following an invitation to speak about Tinnitus, Hyperacusis and other related hearing conditions at a Unite the Union branch meeting in Newport, Susan Poole gave a wide ranging talk to union members. It was an interactive meeting with many questions from members, which was very well received by all who felt far more informed on the matter following Susan’s talk. Subsequently, the branch made a very generous donation to the Tinnitus IoW Support Group, which will go a long way to helping fund guest speakers at future Support Group meetings. The Support Group is very grateful to the Unite the Union branch for its donation.
Tinnitus IoW Support Group Open Day
5 Feb 2026
With circa 35 people attending, including many who have never been to a Support Group meeting, this was a very well received event. Many thanks to Karen from the NHS, Karen from Wight Sense, Simon from the Ear Specialist and, of course, Chris and Rachel for providing the refreshments, all who helped make the open day such a success.
Rupert Brown Interview on BBC Breakfast
3 Feb 2026
Professional musician and strong advocate for the Support Group, Rupert Brown, recently appeared on BBC News for an interview about tinnitus, where he spoke about his experience and how he managed to overcome the sudden impact of tinnitus on his life. To watch the interview please click here. More information can be found on the Tinnitus UK website here.
Susan Poole Interview on Talk the Wight
17 Jan 2026
The group’s founder, Susan Poole, was recently interviewed on Talk the Wight about Tinnitus and related hearing conditions. To listen to this informative interview, please click here (note, when you go to the link, if you cannot see a ‘play’ icon, it may be that you have an ad blocker on, which will need to be disabled and then the page refreshed).