02/09/2003 (Agence Europe) - On the occasion of World Deafness Day on 1 September, the European Commission has published a press release in which it underlines its commitment in terms of research: ten million euros from the 4th and 5th FPRDs have been devoted to projects focussing on various aspects of deafness over the last seven years. These projects have notably allowed various genetic factors in deafness to be identified, and certain communication techniques to be developed, improving the standard of living for the deaf and hard of hearing. In Europe, 22.5 million individuals suffer from hearing impairment, 2 million of which are profoundly deaf.