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ATA's mission is to find a cure for tinnitus. Through your donations we fulfill this by funding tinnitus research grants. Read on to see reasons for hope in 2013 and how your support can help!

Dear friends,

As 2012 comes to a close, it’s a time when many of us reflect on the events of the past year - where we have been and how
far we have come. This year, I am broadening that scope a bit and reflecting on the years I’ve spent living with tinnitus and the service I’ve given on the Board of Directors for the American Tinnitus Association (ATA). This has also made me realize where ATA has been and how far it has come.

I have lived with tinnitus for more than a decade and served as a Board member for nearly as long. During that time, I have been part of and witnessed ATA’s mission taking steps toward finding a cure. I have served on ATA committees, been a key player in our advocacy efforts, and personally attended many of the international research conferences hosted by ATA and its partner organizations around the world. I have even had the opportunity to speak directly to some of the leading tinnitus investigators around the world and asked the hard questions on every tinnitus patient’s mind, including: When will there be a cure? Believe me when I tell you real progress is being made, especially in the past couple of years, and it has given me hope for a quiet future.

I’ve had tinnitus since 1999 and like many of you, I have an idea of what caused it, but the certainty of its origins are, at best, elusive. My desire to know more about this condition that’s plagued me and many millions for so long is what drives me personally to support ATA. While we all have our own reasons for supporting any charity – I suspect that your reason is like mine – because you or a loved one has tinnitus, and despite one’s best attempts to manage it, no current treatment has worked to get rid of this unwelcome guest.

ATA is a national organization that has been working diligently for over 40 years. Although we’ve enjoyed a long history of serving the tinnitus patient community and funding research, our infrastructure remains small. In many ways this is a good thing because we are able to shift gears easily when necessary and serve our donors as their needs change, too. This ability also translates to our research grants and allows ATA to keep funding only the best proposals that are helping us answer the outstanding questions on our Roadmap to a Cure.

Just as the year’s end brings about a time of reflecting, the beginning of each new year is filled with hope and promise, and for the tinnitus community in 2013, there’s real reason for hope. The progress I mentioned on the research front is producing huge ideas about new treatments for tinnitus, including two large multi-site human clinical trials funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on Vagus Nerve Stimulation (VNS) and a comprehensive study on Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT).

The VNS study represents a novel idea that was translated quickly from the laboratory to humans and has produced promising results in a small pilot-study in humans in Europe. The TRT study is an efficacy study to determine which tinnitus patients benefit most from this widely-used form of sound therapy. Both of these clinical trials represent hope to me because they will possibly produce a new treatment for tinnitus and will help to instruct tinnitus health professionals on which patients may benefit most from certain kinds of sound therapies.

Although credit on the research front goes mostly to the brilliant group of investigators who are trying to solve the tinnitus puzzle, ATA has made many contributions toward the progression. Specifically, we directly fund research, but ATA’s robust advocacy program also encourages larger grants from government entities like the NIH because we believe that the tax dollars you pay should in part, be directed toward research to help you with tinnitus. And furthermore, since 2007, ATA has advocated for legislative language annually that has helped to direct NIH to make tinnitus a priority research area – which in turn has launched large-scale clinical trials. Your end-of-year gift to ATA will ensure that these advocacy efforts that are paying off will continue in 2013 and beyond.

As a fellow tinnitus sufferer, I ask you to include ATA in your year-end giving plans and give as generously as you can. A gift to ATA is a gift that will truly make a difference. Your donation will directly impact how we serve the tinnitus patient community through our programs like advocacy and support, and also impact the way we interact and work with the tinnitus research community, and ultimately how we are able to fund them.

If you are looking for real solutions to the “ringing in your ears,” then look no further than the American Tinnitus Association. There is no other member-based organization that is working this hard, day-in and day-out to eradicate this condition, and gives donors the opportunity to have a real stake in the eventual cure of tinnitus.

Please give as much as you can.

On behalf of my colleagues on the ATA Board of Directors, our esteemed Scientific Advisory Committee, and ATA staff, I would like to wish you and your family a happy holiday season and a hopeful 2013. Thank you!

Sincerely,

Scott C. Mitchell, J.D.
ATA Board of Directors

P.S. Remember that your end-of-year donation to ATA is tax-deductible. To receive this benefit make sure your gift is postmarked by December 31, 2012 or make your gift online at ATA.org/donate by midnight on December 31.

Remember, all contributions of $40* or more, from time of receipt at ATA headquarters, automatically renews or starts your membership. All contributions are tax-deductible.

*There are two basic ATA membership levels:

• $35 for Online membership
• $40 for Full membership ($55 outside the U.S.)