A brother and sister duo will be taking part in a 10km run to raise money for a hearing loss charity after first hand experience of damage caused by loud music.

Marc Nicholson, 34, from Stratford, has suffered from tinnitus (non stop ringing) for six year as a result of DJing and loud music. Now, he and his sister Pippa Kelman, 37, from Bishop Stortford will be taking part in London’s unique 10km Run to the Beat on September 14 to raise funds for Action on Hearing Loss, a charity dedicated to finding a cure for hearing loss and tinnitus.

They are hoping to raise £1000 for the charity’s research into hearing loss and tinnitus.

Marc, who is now a property investor, said: “I’ve always had a love for music, starting really early when I played the drums at school and at only 15-years-old I started sneaking into clubs because I absolutely loved dance music. I used to think that getting ringing in the ears after a night out was “a sign of a good night”, but now that the constant noise in my ear never goes away I regret not looking after my ears - and my only way of coping with it is to educate others, so they don’t have to go through what I’m now learning to live with.”

Pippa, a swimming and fitness trainer, said: “Marc used to go clubbing all the time and not worry about loud noise. Now he has to always wear earplugs if he is in a loud environment and if his tinnitus gets really bad he sometimes has to cancel his plans and needs time to recover, as the constant ringing in his ears makes it hard for him to sleep and sometimes leaves him really depressed.”

To sponsor Marc and Pippa visit justgiving.com/Pippa-Kelman1/ or to find out more about Action on Hearing Loss’ fundraising opportunities visit www.actiononhearingloss.org.uk/get-involved.aspx.