ATA Works

The American Tinnitus Association is a conglomeration of dedicated individuals with the unified and ultimate goal of curing tinnitus. The following is an overview of some of the important work ATA's Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) and its Board of Directors are doing right now to get us closer to ending what many call the malady of the 21st century.

ATA Board Works

The ATA Board of Directors is a potent and proactive force working on behalf of the organization to increase tinnitus awareness and expand ATA's outreach to the global tinnitus community. They have a direct, personal knowledge of and passionate commitment to the organization’s mission, values and programs.

Carol A. Bauer, M.D., F.A.C.S., comes from the Department of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine. She has extensive experience in clinical assessment and various research areas directly related to tinnitus. While Carol may be new to the Board of Directors, she is not new to ATA, having served on the Scientific Advisory Committee from 2004 – 2007. She is also a past ATA-funded researcher whose work went on to receive greater funding from the National Institutes of Health. Carol is a recipient of numerous academic awards and honors and we are excited to have this accomplished researcher serve on our board.

Neil Cherian, M.D., is a Staff Physician in the Neurological Institute and is a member of the Neurological Center for Pain at Cleveland Clinic. He is board-certified in adult neurology. Dr. Cherian maintains an active clinical practice and conducts research related to dizziness, tinnitus and complex brain and brainstem disorders. In addition to his clinical practice, he is director of the Cleveland Clinic Center for Performance Medicine. Neil has authored numerous journal articles and posters focusing on vestibular dysfunction, tinnitus, dizziness and multidisciplinary approaches to vestibular disorders. He regularly contributes his expertise to the media and serves on a variety of hospital committees such as World Class Care Committee in the Department of Neurology at Cleveland Clinic.

William (Van) Vanbrooks Harrison is the co-founder, executive chair, managing director and chief technology officer of Silere Medical Technology, Inc. His career highlights include building and leading several multi-million dollar companies and obtaining numerous patents. He has three pending patents for implantable systems to treat tinnitus and a number of others in cochlear implant design. Van also sponsored research programs that resulted in advances in hearing science and applications. His experience in hearing/tinnitus research and upper-level management will be an asset to ATA. Van has tinnitus himself and looks forward to being a part of finding treatments, and ultimately cures.

Marsha Johnson, Au.D., FAAA, a practicing audiologist in Portland who founded the Oregon Tinnitus and Hyperacusis Clinic in 1997. Marsha brings to ATA over ten years of clinical knowledge and experience in caring for patients with tinnitus, hyperacusis and/or hearing loss. Her sincere desire to help those who are suffering will prove indispensable to the organization. She attended the 2nd Tinnitus Retraining Therapy Course with Dr. Pawel Jastreboff in Baltimore, Maryland, in May 1997 when she became a member of Dr. Jastreboff's Tinnitus Retraining Therapy Association (TRTA). Since that time, she has attended update courses on TRT, learned new applications, and participated in clinical research projects, as well as stepping forward strongly into clinical use of the therapy for hyperacusis. Her clinic practices state-of-the-art treatment for these troublesome conditions, including Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT), Neuromonics and Pink Sound Protocol.

Cathy Henderson Jones, Au.D., joins us from Phonak, where she is the director of corporate relations and the president of their charitable arm, the Hear the World Foundation. With over 25 years experience in the hearing health industry, Cathy’s expertise will prove invaluable, particularly in our advocacy and marketing efforts. She serves on numerous boards, including the Better Hearing Institute and the Hearing Industries Association. In 2007, she launched “Hearing on the Hill ‘07” at the Library of Congress, an effort that raised awareness of and advocated for an enhancement of services for people with hearing loss in the United States. Cathy has a lifelong passion for helping people with hearing challenges and looks forward to making a difference in the lives of those who suffer with tinnitus.

Tom Lobl, Ph.D., Vice President of Research and Development for NeuroSystec, a company with the mission to relieve the suffering of patients with hearing and neurological diseases by combining therapeutics and delivery devices to provide new intervention tools for medicine. Also, improve therapeutic profile and reduce side effects through tissue-specific delivery of powerful CNS agents. Tom appears in over 30 publications and holds 15 patents/applications. He and his team are currently developing a novel drug for tinnitus, NST-001.

Michael O'Rourke Michael is assistant director of Veterans Health Policy for the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) in Washington, D.C. A native of Minneapolis, Minn., he has served at various VFW Posts across the United States. Michael’s career in the U.S. Marine Corps includes combat operations in Vietnam and deployment on the USS WORDEN from Yokosuka, Japan. After serving as a medical representative at U.S. Navy hospitals around the world, he completed the Naval School of Health Sciences Physician Assistant Program and serviced in the emergency medical department at Naval Hospital Long Beach in California and on the USS Carl Vinson.

ATA SAC Works

ATA would like to share some of the work ATA’s own Scientific Advisory Committee is doing right now. Most SAC members are working on huge U.S. government-funded projects through the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) and the Department of Defense (DoD).

Anthony T. Cacace, Ph.D., SAC Chair, and Jinsheng Zhang, Ph.D., Wayne State University, Detroit, Mich.
Parallel human and animal models of blast- and concussion-induced tinnitus and related traumatic brain injury DoD grant: $1.5 million for three years.
Roadmap Paths A and B
Tinnitus is the number one service-connected injury in United States veterans coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan. Those experiencing traumatic brain injury (TBI) often suffer with tinnitus as well. This study will evaluate mechanisms underlying blast- and concussion-induced tinnitus in human and animal models using behavioral, electrophysiologic and magnetic resonance imaging paradigms.

Donald Caspary, Ph.D., Southern Illinois University, Springfield, Illinois
The Glycine Receptor in a Rat Tinnitus Model: A Possible Therapeutic Target
NIDCD grant: $303,071; Roadmap Path: B
Tinnitus has been found to increase with aging, thus the incidence of tinnitus is likely to grow due to increases of human longevity and recreational noise exposure. Dr. Caspary’s study examines the functional and molecular neurochemical impact of aging in rats with behavioral evidence of tinnitus. Functional changes will be compared between young and aged controls, and young and aged sound-exposed rats with behavioral evidence of tinnitus. Understanding the impact of aging on tinnitus-related changes in neurochemistry may help further the development and testing of novel selective drugs for the treatment of tinnitus in humans.

Craig Formby, Ph.D., University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Tinnitus Retraining Therapy Trial
NIDCD grant: $796,397; Roadmap Paths: C & D
Dr. Formby’s expansive Tinnitus Retraining Therapy Trial is a five-year, multi-center placebo-controlled randomized trial with 228 participants designed to investigate the efficacy of tinnitus retraining therapy, a habituation-based intervention that uses directive counseling and low-level sound therapy to reduce the negative emotional reactions and the perception of the tinnitus in individuals with debilitating tinnitus, resulting in improved quality of life. Dr. Formby’s study is recruiting participants now! Visit www.ata.org/clinical-trials for details and see if you meet the criteria.

James Henry, Ph.D., Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Portland, Oregon
Ecological Momentary Assessment in Hearing Disorders
NIDCD grant: $63,000
Roadmap Path: C
Although hearing loss and tinnitus are the two most common hearing problems among middle-aged and older Americans, most of those who experience these disorders do not seek treatment for tinnitus or hearing loss. Studies utilizing standard questionnaire methods have shown that those suffering from both hearing loss and tinnitus report that their problems and distress are often episodic and situational. The objective of this investigation is to use a Personal Digital Assistant-based technology to study the effect of hearing loss and tinnitus on people as they go about their daily activities. The pilot project will serve as the foundation for a future program of research integrating both audiometric and questionnaire-based data streams in real-life day-to-day settings and provide the basis for future clinical research by examining the real-time real-world impact of auditory disorders on everyday life.

Jennifer Melcher, Ph.D., Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Boston, Massachusetts
Networking of Brain Activity in People With Tinnitus
NIDCD grant: $295,921; Roadmap Paths A & B
Dr. Melcher’s proposal investigates a novel abnormality of brain function that may underlie the most clinically significant aspect of tinnitus, the so-called 'vicious cycle': tinnitus causes distress and distress causes tinnitus. The nature of the abnormality, studied directly in people, utilizing functional magnetic resonance (fMRI), magneto- and electro-encephalographic (MEG, EEG) measurements, is an unusually strong pairing of activity between brain centers such as those processing sound and emotions. If her work shows that this abnormal coupling is indeed operative in tinnitus patients, there are existing treatments that may be able to reverse it and thereby provide relief from a condition that is all too often debilitating. The project could fundamentally change how the research field conceptualizes the brain mechanisms of tinnitus.

Jay Piccirillo, Ph.D., Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri
Collaborative Tinnitus Research at Washington University
NIDCD grant: $337,554; Roadmap Paths C and D
Neuroimaging studies have shown such tinnitus to be associated with hyperactivity of a variety of cortical regions, especially the auditory cortices and middle temporal regions. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) involves the application of frequent, repeated magnetic stimuli to the skull to induce electrical activity in the underlying cortical areas of the brain. The goal of this project is to assess the effectiveness of rTMS in a large number of tinnitus patients and to thoroughly assess whether there are patient and clinical factors that are predictors of outcome. Upon completion of this collaborative research project, new knowledge will be gained about the efficacy of rTMS for tinnitus. Dr. Piccirillo’s study is unique since all subjects will have thorough neurocognitive testing and PET scan imaging at baseline, after sham, and after active treatment.

Hinrich Staecker, Ph.D., M.D., University of Kansas
Hair Cell Regeneration in a Rat Tinnitus Model
Department of Defense (DoD) grant: $1,272,460; Roadmap Path C
Current data suggests that it is the loss of sensory cells in the inner ear, called hair cells, that leads to this aberrant brain activity. Thus, if lost hair cells could be replaced, restoration of normal brain activity and reduction in tinnitus activity may occur. Dr. Staecker is working to regenerate these sensory hair cells inside the ear. Upon noise trauma, these hair cells and cause hearing loss, thus triggering tinnitus. Current data suggests that the loss of sensory cells in the inner ear lead to the abnormal brain activity associated with tinnitus. The study will determine if hair cell replacement mitigates tinnitus and if it restores normal brain activity to the hearing centers of the brain. Dr. Staecker’s work will represent the first investigation of the effects of hair cell regeneration in the brain and could lead to a major breakthrough in tinnitus research.

Jinsheng Zhang, Ph.D., and Anthony T. Cacace, Ph.D., SAC Chair, Wayne State University, Detroit, Mich.
Parallel human and animal models of blast- and concussion-induced tinnitus and related traumatic brain injury DoD grant:
$1.5 million for three years.
Roadmap Paths A and B
Tinnitus is the number one service-connected injury in United States veterans coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan. Those experiencing traumatic brain injury (TBI) often suffer with tinnitus as well. This study will evaluate mechanisms underlying blast- and concussion-induced tinnitus in human and animal models using behavioral, electrophysiologic and magnetic resonance imaging paradigms.