Action Alliance

Tinnitus Awareness Week

THANK YOU for helping us “Move the World Toward a Cure!

A special thanks goes out to all of our members, supporters, donors and advocates who helped make this year's Tinnitus Awareness Week, “Moving the World Toward a Cure,” such an amazing success. This year, we accomplished some milestones in raising general awareness of tinnitus and of the necessity and urgency for its cure. Many volunteers reached out to their local newspapers, elected officials and inner circle of family and friends to spread the word about tinnitus by educating others about the incidence of the problem and the associated dangers and risks that lead to this problem.

Two major highlights we’d like to share with you are Donna Brown’s success with the Colorado state legislature and our own ATA staff on the airwaves during Tinnitus Awareness Week.

Donna Brown is an ATA member and advocate residing in Colorado whose successful ascent of Washington state’s Mount Rainier in July of 2007 raised over $300,000 for ATA’s research program. This year, Donna took the message of tinnitus to Colorado's state capitol on May 1 and the end result was a resolution that passed 60-1 in favor of declaring May 21, 2008 "Tinnitus Awareness Day" in the state. A special thanks to Donna and her husband, Gary, for being such staunch supporters in the fight to silence tinnitus for good! You can read about Donna's successful endeavor and learn how to ready yourself for next year’s Tinnitus Awareness week now. Reaching out to your locally elected officials early will likely ensure greater success in garnering their support. ATA can help you with materials to present to your state representatives and senators and give you tips on holding meetings and talking with their staff.

Additionally, ATA director of public affairs, Jennifer DuPriest, and manager of member services, Lisa Freeman, appeared on Portland’s alternative radio station, 94.7 FM, to present their Tinnitus Awareness Week “Perfect Playlist.” The Perfect Playlist is a weekday program aired from 5 – 5:30 P.M., Pacific Time. The station invites listeners to submit their five-song playlist and present it live in the 94.7 studio. Listen to Jennifer and Lisa present the following five songs, all of which reference “ringing in the ears” or were recorded by an artist with tinnitus.

1. Heavy Metal Drummer – Wilco
"Classical music blasting masks the ringing in my ears"

2. Show Me How to Live – Audioslave
“This ringing in my head. Is this a cure is or is this a disease?”

3. Common People – William Shatner (Pulp cover)
Mr Shatner has tinnitus; the song does not reference ringing in the ears.

4. Turn the Page - Metallica (Bob Seger cover)
“Later in the evening, you lie awake in bed
with the echoes of the amplifiers ringing in your head”

5. Nausea – Beck
“Like blown-out speakers Ringin' in my ears”

94.7 broadcasts to half the state of Oregon and Washington and is also available for live listening via their Web site.