"Helping people with ringing in the ears since 1971"

40 Years of Progress Toward a Tinnitus Cure
History of ATA
Timeline of Historical ATA Highlights: 1971 - 1980  /  1980 - 1990  /  1990 - 2000  / 2000 - 2010
 

AMERICAN TINNITUS ASSOCIATION MARKS RUBY ANNIVERSARY
- 40 Years of Helping Patients Manage “Ringing in the Ears” and Funding Research Toward A Cure -

The American Tinnitus Association kicks off 2011 with a major milestone – 40 years helping patients with ringing in the ears. This 40 anniversary celebration will be commemorated with special events all year long.

The advances in understanding the neuroscience behind tinnitus are growing by the day, giving real hope of a quiet tomorrow for tinnitus patients everywhere,” said Michael Malusevic, ATA Executive Director. Our hope is to exponentially increase tinnitus awareness across the U.S. and around the world to match the ever-growing need of its inevitable cure, said Malusevic.

Tinnitus has been the number one service connected disability for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans for the past three years. “The increases in veterans claiming disability for tinnitus is astounding,” said Gary P. Reul, Ed.D, Chair of ATA’s board of directors. “Something that people are very shocked to find out is that at the end of 2009, the Department of Veterans Affairs paid out $1.1 billion for disability compensation to veterans for tinnitus alone; at that rate of increase, we will be paying out $2.26 billion annually by 2014 with just a little over $10 million available to fund research toward a tinnitus cure,” continued Reul. “Even after 40 years people don’t understand what a disabling condition tinnitus can be and how many people in the U.S. and worldwide are affected,” he concluded.

50 million Americans experience tinnitus and of those, 16 million have sought medical attention for the ringing in their ears. Currently there is no cure for tinnitus, though there are some management strategies that help some patients live better with their tinnitus. ATA’s own research grant program started in 1980 and since then the organization has contributed millions of dollars in seed grants to tinnitus investigators to help them prove their theories. “What we have learned about tinnitus and the non-auditory structures of the brain that may be involved has really opened up the field to new ideas and research,” said Anthony T. Cacace, Ph.D., Chair of ATA’s Scientific Advisory Committee. He added, “The funds that ATA is able to award directly to tinnitus investigators have greatly assisted in the ground-breaking discoveries related to tinnitus over the past three decades. Without ATA’s contribution, the field may have not advanced as quickly as it has.”

40 Years of Progress Toward a Tinnitus Cure

ATA’s 40^th Anniversary will include exciting events all year long including but not limited to:

The Jack Vernon Walk to Silence Tinnitus - This national fundraiser, in its third year, will be held in Portland, Ore. on June 25, 2011. This fun event allows individuals to participate in person in Portland or virtually, online at walk.ata.org. This year’s event is doubly important as it is the first year we will be holding the event in memory of our co-founder, Jack A. Vernon, Ph.D. who passed away in November 2010. All proceeds from the event will be 100% restricted to funding tinnitus research.

The first-ever AZ Walk to Silence Tinnitus - This fundraiser will be held on March 5, 2011 in Scottsdale, Ariz., and is the first-ever satellite event in the southwest to compliment the national fundraising walk held in June. There will be a community Expo that morning, as well as the night before, with restaurants, retails businesses, music and fun for the kids!
 

National Tinnitus Awareness Week - Restoring Silence: One Decade at a Time - This year’s National Tinnitus Awareness Week will be held May 15-21, 2011. ATA will be creating a section on their website dedicated to ways that individuals can help raise tinnitus awareness in their own communities and other fun educational activities for the whole family! What began as Tinnitus Awareness Day in 2003, grew to be a week by May of 2004, and has continued, for the past six years, to be a national effort. Tinnitus Awareness Week complements ATA’s year-round advocacy efforts and, most importantly, the need for increased funding for tinnitus research.
 

Celebrity Memorabilia Auction - ATA will hold its second annual online memorabilia auction of exciting items signed by athletes, musicians, and celebrities. The auction will include items from NFL Hall of Famer Gale Sayers, MLB Hall of Famers Rickey Henderson, Rollie Fingers, and Fergie Jenkins, and musicians such as Grammy nominees, The Black Keys. All proceeds will be dedicated 100% to tinnitus research. Check out what ATA had to offer in its 2010 auction.

For more information on these events and other 40^th anniversary events throughout the year stay tuned to ATA.org.

History of ATA

It was 1971 and Jack A. Vernon, Ph.D., a longtime champion of tinnitus patients, was conducting clinical research at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) in Portland, Oregon. He began treating Dr. Charles Unice, a California physician and tinnitus sufferer, and together the two joined forces and founded the American Tinnitus Association. ATA's #1 aim? Fund necessary tinnitus research that will get everyone afflicted with this unfortunate condition on the ATA team and help leap us forward to an eventual cure.
 

The extent of ATA in those early days was a closet-sized office at OHSU and a handful of dedicated volunteers in Portland. Today, thanks in large part to Dr. Vernon's vision and commitment to finding effective tinnitus treatments, ATA is helping speed us toward eventual cures. ATA is the United State's largest association of individual contributors investing in grants for tinnitus research. Check out an early ATA newsletter from 1975, written by Dr. Vernon and witness the early birth and testing of acoustic tinnitus masking.
 

Timeline of Historical ATA Highlights

1971 - 1980

1971 – Jack A. Vernon, Ph.D., and Charles Unice, Ph.D., establish the American Tinnitus Association in Portland, Oregon. Birth of the only national organization devoted to the problem of tinnitus.

1975 – The first ATA newsletter is sent out to members in April. The newsletter notes that "there are about 95 members of ATA."  The newsletter details the initial idea of creating a device to 'mask' tinnitus. It also included a survey questionnaire asking members to provide details about their tinnitus.

1976 – Gloria Reich, Ph.D., joins ATA as the first volunteer coordinator. She has a modest office in the corner of the Kresge Laboratory and helps keep ATA organized and efficient.

1976 – Scientific Advisory Committee, comprised of prominent professionals who are specialists in auditory disorders and research, is founded.

1977 - 1980 – Educational workshops on tinnitus presented nationwide, providing information to more than 1,200 professionals interested in learning about the evaluation and management of tinnitus patients.

1978 – Jack A. Vernon, Ph.D. and Robert Hocks apply for a patent for their tinnitus masker. 

1979 – ATA incorporates as a 501(c)(3), tax-exempt organization (nonprofit status).

1979 – Parade magazine publishes an article about tinnitus and ATA’s efforts. More than 20,000 pieces of mail arrive at the ATA office, creating the need for paid staff.

1979 – Jack Vernon, then Director of the Kresge Hearing Research Laboratory at the University of Oregon Health Sciences Center, was the Guest of Honor at the First International Tinnitus Seminar held in New York City in June. Dr. Vernon was cited for his many contributions in the area of tinnitus and for generating interest among professionals worldwide in the problem of idiopathic tinnitus.

1980 - 1990

1980s - 1990s – Medical research makes significant progress in the search for a tinnitus cure. Greatest advance is in determining how tinnitus starts and which areas of the auditory system – from the ear to the brain – are affected.

1980 – ATA awards its first research grant, $12,000, to Oregon tinnitus researcher Mary B. Meikle, Ph.D., who uses the money to start the first-ever registry of tinnitus patients. The project eventually attracts funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and grows into a valuable tool for tinnitus researchers.

1980 – Gloria Reich, Ph.D. elevated to the position of Executive Director, a title she would hold for the next two decades!

1981 – ATA co-sponsors a public service announcement featuring "The Hulk" Lou Ferrigno, which prompts thousands of telephone inquiries.

1982 – ATA establishes nationwide support group network. Within one year there are 80 groups throughout the country.

1983 – Rock group STYX, of "Mr. Roboto" fame, contributes part of proceeds of their platinum record to tinnitus research.

1983 – Dear Abby’s advice column mentions tinnitus and ATA, generating 20,000 letters to our organization.

1983 – Actor William Christopher, Father Mulcahy from the hit television show M*A*S*H*, stars in a series of public service announcements about tinnitus for ATA.

1986 – Dear Abby and Ann Landers columns mention ATA, sparking 120,000 letters to ATA and financial contributions that move the organization forward.

1986 – Legendary actor Tony Randall helped ATA by starring in a series of public service announcements about tinnitus and recorded a humorous video about the pronunciation of tinnitus with actor and comedian Jerry Stiller.

1986 – ATA Executive Director Gloria Reich, Ph.D., appears on the McNeil-Lehrer News Hour in a segment about tinnitus and ATA.

1986 – The ATA support network consists of over 150 support groups spread throughout the United States and Canada.

1988 – Former U.S. President Ronald Reagan accepts appointment as chairman of National Better Hearing and Speech month.

1988 – Race car driver Al Unser and Olympic gold medalist Jeff Float appear in ATA public service announcements.

1988 – ATA's newsletter, published since 1975, becomes Tinnitus Today magazine, beginning with the December 1988 issue.

1990 - 2000

1990 – Tony Randall and Senator Paul Simon testify before Senator Harkin's committee about tinnitus.

1991 – Actor and comedian Jerry Stiller is interviewed about his tinnitus in the national media.

1993 – ATA participates in the "Human Race" a community fundraiser for nonprofit organizations.

1994 – Barbra Streisand speaks about her tinnitus and donates $25,000 to ATA for research.

1994 – The "Odd Couple" reunites to to raise awarenss and research funds for ATA.

1995 – Fifth International Tinnitus Seminar hosted by ATA in Portland, Oregon. Scientists from 25 countries appear and present papers about tinnitus.

1995 – William Shatner and Gloria Reich, Ph.D. testify before Congress. Shatner records a public service announcement for ATA.

1997 – Former First Lady Rosalyn Carter discusses her tinnitus with the media.

1998 – American Medical Review films a segment about ATA and tinnitus to be broadcast on PBS and other networks.

1999 – ATA and its representatives attend the 6th International Tinnitus Seminar in Cambridge, England. Many ATA-funded studies were part of the poster presentation, including work by Pawel J. Jastreboff, Ph.D., Sc.D. and Richard Salvi, Ph.D.

2000 - 2010

2000 – Gloria Reich, Ph.D., is honored for her 20 years of service as ATA's first Executive Director.

2001 – Co-founder Jack Vernon, Ph.D., receives Outstanding Health Care Professional Award and is honored at the ATA Founders' Gala on November 10, 2001, in Portland, Oregon.

2002 – ATA sponsors the Mid-Atlantic Tinnitus Conference.

2002 – Sid Kleinman, 70-year old Chair of the ATA Board of Directors, rides a bicycle over 1,000 miles through Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois and Tennessee, in a historic event to raise awareness of tinnitus. Read the story from the December 2002 issue of Tinnitus Today.

2004 – Thanks to a generous donation from an anonymous tinnitus sufferer, The FDL Tinnitus Assistance Fund created in memory of Floyd David Lisinski. Over 200 tinnitus patients are helped, with up to $1,500 awarded to each person for hearing evaluations and treatments.

2005 –  ATA showcases the Roadmap to a Cure, an innovative guide for researchers that identifies what researchers know now about tinnitus and what more information they need to develop a cure. Path A and B focus on where and how tinnitus starts. Paths C and D focus on treatments.

2007 – ATA adopts a new, more focused mission to fund resources to advance research that will lead to a tinnitus cure.
 

2007 – ATA member, and tinnitus sufferer, Donna Brown reaches the summit of Mt. Rainier in Washington state and raises over $300,000 for tinnitus research.

2008 – William Shatner records a personal video for ATA members and tinnitus sufferers throughout the world.

2008 – ATA representatives make trip to Washington, D.C. to acknowledge its 2007 Congressional Champions.

2008 – Awards $595,462 toward research grants.

2009 – Co-sponsors tinnitus workshop with the NIDCD in Washington, D.C., collaboration aimed at accelerating the state of tinnitus research. 

2009 – ATA acknowledges its 2008 Congressional Champions for their role in helping expand public funding for tinnitus research.

2009 – Hosts "Jack A. Vernon, Ph.D. Recognition Night" at PGE Baseball Park in Portland. Dr. Vernon throws out the first pitch and a public service announcement about tinnitus airs on the park's JumboTron.

2009 – Awards $200,500 for research grants.

2010 – Tennis star Jennifer Capriati records a video with her mother, and tinnitus sufferer, Denise Capriati to speak about ATA and tinnitus.

2010 – Co-sponsors 4th International TRI Tinnitus Conference, "Frontiers in Tinnitus Research".

2010 – Jack Vernon Walk to Silence Tinnitus is held in Portland. Over $35,000 raised for tinnitus research projects.

2010 – ATA recognizes its 2009 Congressional Champions.

2010 – On November 11, the tinnitus community suffered a profound loss and American Tinnitus Association lost its visionary, co-founder and good friend, Dr. Jack A. Vernon.

Become part of ATA's history and future by joining as a member today and help us advance the state of tinnitus research with your generosity and support!