FORMER miner Arthur Williams worked down the pit for more than 30 years.

His career – which was split between Whitwell Colliery in Derbyshire and Rufford Colliery in Notts – left him with life-long friends, but also an incurable condition – tinnitus.

It affects the ears and patients hear noises, such as whistling, sometimes permanently.

"It was very noisy and dusty down the mines, and after 35 years it's taken its toll on me," said the 72-year-old from Lime Grove, Forest Town, Mansfield.

"It's something that I have come to deal with, but at first I found it very difficult.

"I can only describe it as a constant whirring sound, and I lived with it for many years thinking it would eventually go away but it didn't, and I have always found it hard getting to sleep."

Mr Williams received £1,200 in compensation from the British Coal Board when he retired from mining in 1989.

Tinnitus is not classified as a disease, but rather a symptom with various causes, including abnormally loud sounds in the ear canal.

Ear infections, nasal allergies, foreign objects in the ear and wax build-ups can also trigger the problem.

Mr Williams said: "Apparently quite a few other miners have also suffered with the same thing."

After living with the condition for ten years and when the noise became louder, Mr Williams finally had to visit his doctor. He was at first fitted with a hearing aid which killed the sound by about 50 per cent.

But it was only when he visited the specialist audiologist-led tinnitus clinic in King's Mill Hospital in July, 2009, that he found a better treatment.

"I was one of the first five patients to use the new unit. They had time to look into my condition in more detail, and I have since been fitted with two hearing aids.

"The noise when I have got them both on is almost not there at all. I am forever indebted to the work of the staff at the unit."

Dr Roland Schaette, British Tinnitus Association's senior research associate, said: "We are closer than ever to finding a cure for tinnitus. "In the past decade research has made tremendous progress and we have learned a lot about the mechanisms that are involved in the development of tinnitus.

"Although it can be triggered in the ear, the processes that keep it going and make it a problem are in the brain.

"So tinnitus can be approached from a neuroscience perspective.

"This broadened scope has attracted the interest of brain researchers and today more research groups than ever are involved in tinnitus research."

King's Mill is marking Tinnitus Awareness Week by holding an information event about the condition. It takes place tomorrow from 2pm in the lecture theatre.