ATA Electronic Newsletter
June 2012 – Volume 2,
Issue 2
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A Message From the
Editor
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Dear ATA Supporters,
It's hard to believe that summer is practically upon us. It seems that
2012 just began a few short moments ago and here we are already halfway
through
the year. So far it's been an incredible year for ATA and tinnitus
research. From the AZ Walk to
Silence Tinnitus held in Arizona in March, to Tinnitus Awareness
Week (TAW) in May, to the Tour de
Tinnitus which started during TAW and continues into the summer,
we've had ATA supporters and staff have been busy fulfilling ATA's
mission. And, at the March ATA Board of
Directors meeting, our Board funded two very deserving tinnitus
research proposals and one student grant which you'll read more about
below.
As we look to the second half of 2012, there are even more exciting
tinnitus-related events happening. Perhaps the most important one is
our big national fundraiser - the Jack Vernon Walk to Silence Tinnitus.
This annual event is one of the ways ATA raises money restricted to
funding tinnitus research. This year, we have worked to secure a
matching gift opportunity from several anonymous donors, which can make
this our most successful Walk ever!
For every donation of $25 or more to the 2012
Walk, ATA will receive a donation of TWICE that amount! For
example, a $100 donation would receive a matching gift of an additional
$200 for a total of $300 to support ATA-funded research. And as you
know, all of ATA's ability to fund research comes
from the generosity of our donors and
supporters, so this is a prime opportunity to really make a
difference with a gift of any amount. Please tell your friends and
family about this opportunity as well!
We owe a debt of gratitude to the incredibly generous donors who made
this matching gift opportunity possible. They have given us a chance to
raise an additional $70,000 in matching gifts which will be
restricted to funding tinnitus research. Please
make a gift of at least $25 today, and consider giving as
generously as you can! It does not matter what team you "join" since
all donations are being directed to the same place.
I hope you find the content in this newsletter enjoyable, informative
and inspiring in your own journey with tinnitus. If you have questions,
comments or submissions for the ATA
Electronic Newsletter or for the print edition of Tinnitus Today, please send them to
me at editor@ata.org.
Kind Regards,
Jennifer Born
Editor, Tinnitus Today
editor@ata.org
P.S. - One more thing I forgot to mention! Just because we're having a
"walk" doesn't mean you have to physically "walk" to participate. Mr. William Shatner
is a great example of this - he will not be joining us in Portland
on June 16, but he has started a team by making a gift and recruited
team members who are all participating online only!
Heroes of Tinnitus
Awareness Week 2012
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The tinnitus
community is filled with unheralded stars who work tirelessly through
their own struggles with tinnitus to help others with this condition.
They also raise important funds for tinnitus research. This year, we
decided to honor the heroes of Tinnitus Awareness Week 2012 with a
special page dedicated to them on ATA.org. While not all of these
highlights took place during TAW 2012, we would like to share with you
the
efforts of some who have helped fulfill ATA's mission with their
advocacy in their own communities and in their own ways.
Please visit ATA.org/taw-heroes
to read about some of these extraordinary individuals and if you have a
TAW 2012 story to share, please email us so we can add it to the page!
 The second
annual Tour
de
Tinnitus began during Tinnitus Awareness week with the
Missouri and Florida rides and continues throughout the summer.
National Tour de Tinnitus
Director Mark Church (pictured far
right) who spearheaded the event last year said,
"Like last year the ride was challenging but a lot of fun. I like to
mix work and play so I made sure that the ride was an enjoyable
experience for everyone. What better way of doing that than to have our
halfway stopping point to be in a town known for their wineries!"
Mark was joined by his wife Vicki (pictured
above, second from the right) this year who said, "I'm so glad I
decided to ride with Mark this year - it was truly enjoyable to support
my husband in his battle with tinnitus, and enjoy the company of good
people for a great cause. I look forward to future Tour de Tinnitus events!"
The Missouri ride picked up two additional teams this year, including
team captains Briston Davidge and Steven Taaffe, and combined they
raised $3,407. We thank all the riders in Missouri who truly went above
and beyond in support of ATA's mission to cure tinnitus.
The Florida state
team
leader Sal Gentile (pictured far
left) and his team, including his wife Mattie (pictured second from
right), did their 100 mile ride on Saturday May 19 and raised a total
of $5,250. Of the ride, Sal said, "What a wonderful way to help our
tinnitus cause. I can't wait until next year to see if this ride
doubles or maybe triples with riders across multiple states." Another
member of his team noted, "Mattie was such a wonderful hostess we felt
like we were on a picnic with all the food, drinks, and support! If we
had some shade it would have
been a picnic."
We thank the team in Florida as well for their dedication to this event
and particularly Sal for his many efforts to raise awareness of
tinnitus and funds to support ATA's mission.
The Tour de Tinnitus is still ongoing! Team New
England captained by Marlon Dale will begin their "Connecticut to
Canada" ride next Wednesday, June 6 in Hartford Connecticut and end the
journey on Lake Ontario in Cape Vincent, NY on June 10. Team Northwest,
captained by Ed Ruttledge will be final ride, and will take place from
June 11-16, 2012, beginning and ending in Portland, Oregon. They will
cross the finish line in solidarity with our walkers at the
completion of the Jack Vernon Walk
to Silence Tinnitus! Best of luck to team New England and Team
Northwest in their endeavors in the coming weeks!
If you are
interested in becoming part of
the Tour de Tinnitus in the
future, please contact ATA Development
Director, Wes Breazeale.
ATA Honors Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) fo r His Leadership to Promote Tinnitus
Research
On May 1, ATA leadership presented U.S. Senator James Inhofe, a senior
member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), with our 2011
Senate Legislative Champion Award for his dedicated efforts to include
tinnitus research and funding to the annual National Defense
Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2012 (FY12). Ultimately, an
amendment that would have addressed hearing injuries and hearing loss
of service members failed, but will be resubmitted to this annual
legislation for FY13.
“Our men and women in uniform deserve the best treatment for
their selfless sacrifice,” said Inhofe. “With over 350,000
Iraq and Afghanistan veterans diagnosed with tinnitus, we must ensure
they receive the proper resources to treat this debilitating condition.
Last year, during the FY12 NDAA markup, I was dissatisfied with the
failure of an amendment that would further assist our nation’s
veterans. As the second ranking member of the SASC, I look forward to
once again supporting a similar measure in FY13 that will address and
treat this condition found in many of our nation’s
veterans.”
ATA thanks Senator Inhofe for his leadership and looks forward to
continued work on this issue with him in the future. Stay tuned to ATA.org/advocacy
for updates on the progress of the FY13 legislation.
Pictured
above from left to right: Linda & John Bates (former ATA Board
Member), Jennifer Born,ATA Director of Public Affairs, Senator James
Inhofe, Scott C. Mitchell,
J.D.,(ATA Board Member), Deborah Outlaw, J.D.,(ATA government relations
rep.)
ATA received numerous high-quality
proposals from top researchers from across the globe for its FY 2011
annual funding cycle. This past March, ATA’s Scientific Advisory
Committee met and discussed the grants they deemed innovative and
worthy of support by ATA. Their votes and careful evaluations were
forwarded to ATA’s Board of Directors for the final funding
decision, and the following projects were approved:
Sarah Hayes,
State University of New York at Buffalo
Student
Research Project: Contribution of Stress to Tinnitus Generation:
Role of GABAergic Inhibition
Roadmap to a Cure Path: B
Funded:
1-year student grant, $10,000
Type:
Animal research study
Ms. Hayes and mentor Richard Salvi, Ph.D.: “This proposal
addresses Path B of ATA’s Roadmap to a Cure (Elucidation
of Mechanisms of Tinnitus Generation). The goal of the experiments is
to better understand how factors such as stress contribute to tinnitus
generation by altering GABAergic inhibition along the auditory pathway.
A better understanding of how stress-induced changes in GABAergic
inhibition can contribute to tinnitus generation, can lead to future
development of therapies to prevent and treat tinnitus (Path C,
Development of Therapy).”
Jennifer Melcher, Ph.D., Massachusetts Eye
& Ear, Harvard Medical School
Project:
Brain Function and Attention in Tinnitus
Roadmap to a Cure
Paths:
A,B
Funded:
$49,983, 1st year of 2-year project
Type:
Human research study
Dr. Melcher: "There are multiple aspects of attention controlled by
different parts of the brain. For instance, we sometimes pay
'selective' attention to a particular thing –
someone’s voice, for instance - or ones tinnitus. The focus of
attention can sometimes be controlled voluntarily or, it can be
involuntarily captured, for instance by someone calling your name or,
again, by tinnitus. This project begins to examine whether the brain
processes of selective and involuntary attention are different in
people with tinnitus and if so how. There are already researchers
working on tinnitus therapies that involve attention training
exercises. Our hope is that this project shows ways to improve on these
therapies, perhaps by showing which aspects of attention need shoring
up. The research seeks to understand brain processes underlying the
condition of tinnitus and thus intersects paths A and B in the ATA Roadmap. By working directly in
people with tinnitus and on an aspect of tinnitus that is being
targeted by therapies, this project also has a clear eye toward path C."
Josef
Rauschecker, Ph.D., Georgetown University Medical Center
Project:
Tonotopic Map Reorganization and the Effects of Frequency
Discrimination Treatment in Tinnitus
Roadmap to a Cure
Paths:
A,C,D
Funded:
$50,000 1st year of 2-year project
Type:
Human research study
Dr. Rauschecker: “The research project overlaps with Paths A, C,
and D of the Roadmap. It addresses the
question of whether tonotopic map distortions occur in all cases of
hearing loss, or only in tinnitus patients. While tonotopic map
distortions are a proposed source of the tinnitus signal, to date there
is no direct evidence that such distortions occur exclusively in
tinnitus (Path A: Identification of Generators). Second, the project
investigates the efficacy and neural sites of action for
acoustic-behavioral therapy, which has shown some success in
alleviating tinnitus. Our proposed treatment variation (specifically
targeting low frequencies) has never been tested and can therefore be
considered “Development of Therapy” (Path C). Finally, the
combination of pre/post-treatment fMRI and treatment success measures
will identify the neural sites of successful treatment, and will thus
serve as a guide for further refinement of the treatment (Path D)."
Read more about the studies funded at ATA.org/research/ata-funded.
| Special Charitable Offer Through Jewelry |
In partnership with
our Jack Vernon Walk to Silence
Tinnitus, Holly Tripp, a Silpada Jewlery consultant is
donating 50% of
commissions on her jewelry sales to the Walk. This will run through
June 17.
All orders must be placed online at Mysilpada.com/holly.tripp.
During checkout, make sure you select "Tinnitus Fundraiser."
For contact information and full details, including exactly how to take
advantage of this opportunity, click on the image below.
| Spring 2012 Tinnitus Today Available Online |
Did
you have a chance to read the Spring 2012 issue of Tinnitus Today yet?
If not, you can read it online in the Members Section of ATA.org.
Simply log in with your last name and member number MERGE_ACCT_NUMBER.
This issue focuses on ATA's "Everyday Heroes" and includes articles
about:
- The Progressive
Tinnitus Management Program
- Questions and
Answers
with Allen Rohe, Au.D., and Amy Rohe, M.A., CCC-A
- A feature on Ian
Punnett, radio personality who has tinnitus
- An interview with
tinnitus sufferer and musician Drew DeFour
- ATA-funded research
report by student Na Zhu, Ph.D.
And much, much more.
We've already begun work on the Summer 2012 issue which will come out
in August. The focus of our summer issue is always on the current-state
of research, and what progress has been made over the last year on the
path to a cure.
| Frequency Charity Event Benefits ATA |
Frequency,
a new Dallas-based non-profit organization committed to curing tinnitus
and hearing loss,
held a special kickoff event last month during Tinnitus Awareness week
to support ATA's mission of curing tinnitus. All the proceeds from the
event will be split evenly between ATA and the Virginia Merrill
Bloedell Hearing Research Center.
Jason Vasilas of Frequency said:
The event was a huge
success! Approximately 225 people attended and are continuing to
collect donations through the end of May. The event primarily took
place on the patio and the ambiance was fantastic. We had amazing
catering, great music, and a lot of excitement around the raffle table.
At the end of the night, people left with gift bags containing your
brochure, among other items. All in all, the support we've received so
far has been amazing - 51 companies backed our debut event with
sponsorship or prize donations and we look forward to even bigger
things in the future.
ATA thanks Jason and everyone who sponsored and attended the event and
look forward to a continued partnership with Frequency into the future.
Learn more about Frequency here.
Internet-Based Therapy Relieves Persistent
Tinnitus
New research shows
that internet-based
self-help training for tinnitus is as successful as group therapy.
In a study conducted by the Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy
division of the Institute of Psychology at Johannes Gutenberg
University Mainz (JGU), and the Department of Behavioral Sciences and
Learning at Linköping University in Sweden, researchers showed
that those suffering from tinnitus can benefit from internet-based
therapy just as much as patients who take part in group therapy
sessions.
Counteracting
Tinnitus by Acoustic Coordinated Reset Neuromodulation
In a prospective, randomized, single
blind, placebo-controlled trial in 63 patients with chronic tonal
tinnitus and up to 50 dB hearing loss, researchers studied safety and
efficacy of
different doses of acoustic CR
neuromodulation. A reduction of at least 7 TQ points, was obtained
in 75% of patients with a mean TQ reduction of 50% among responders. CR
therapy significantly lowered tinnitus frequency and reversed the
tinnitus related EEG alterations
Implantable
Drug Vial Cold Ease Tinnitus
Draper Laboratory in Cambridge has
received a grant from the Department of Defense to
fund the development of a device that could one day be implanted in
the ear to deliver drugs directly to the source of the problem. There
are currently no specific drugs to treat tinnitus, but researchers
building the device said it could be used to deliver drugs that might
help relieve the symptoms, such as lidocaine, a local anesthetic.
SoundCure(TM)
Launches FDA-cleared Serenade (R) Tinnitus Treatment System
SoundCure Inc., a new tinnitus solution provider, announced the launch
of the Serenade
Tinnitus Treatment System. This marks the formal commercial release
of a novel advancement in sound therapy based on the development of
S-Tones®, customized treatment sounds developed independently by
leading hearing researchers at the University of California, Irvine
(UCI).
Serenade is a handheld device that is programmed in the audiologist's
office for each individual patient according to his specific condition.
Through the device's earphones, the patient listens to therapeutic
sounds which are designed to address the underlying neurological cause
of tinnitus. Four different treatment sounds are available, anchored by
advanced, proprietary S-Tones. Long-term relief can be achieved when
used in an on-going sound therapy program.
The American Tinnitus Association provided a grant to UCI to develop
the exclusive technology.
Serenity
System for Tinnitus: 10-Patient Clinical Trial Successfully Completed
MicroTransponder, the company studying vagus nerve stimulation to
determine its effectiveness in tinnitus patients, has
announced that their 10-patient tinnitus clinical trial
demonstrated that their Serenity System* therapy is able to clinically
reduce tinnitus in the patients. Using the Tinnitus Handicap
Questionnaire, 70% of the patients experienced a significant reduction
in their tinnitus.
Study:
Insomnia Takes Toll on Tinnitus Patients
Researchers at Henry Ford Hospital,
including Kathleen Yaremchuk, M.D., and George Miguel, M.D., conducted
a retrospective study of 117 patients treated between 2009 and 2011
at Henry Ford. Information was gathered from patients through telephone
and written interviews using the Tinnitus Reaction Questionnaire (or,
TRQ, which determines the emotional effects tinnitus has had on a
person’s lifestyle and general well-being) and the Insomnia
Severity Index (or, ISI, a brief screening measure of insomnia) scales.
Chris Martin
Reveals His Tinnitus and Support of Action on Hearing Loss Campaign
Chris Martin, frontman for the band Coldplay, announced
he experiences tinnitus and is working to help others. Martin says,
"Looking after your ears is unfortunately something you don't think
about until there's a problem. I've had tinnitus for about 10 years,
and since I started protecting my ears it hasn't got any worse (touch
wood). But I wish I'd thought about it earlier. Now we always use
molded filter earplugs, or in-ear monitors, to try and protect our
ears."
BHI Raises
Awareness of Hearing Aids as Potential Therapy to Help Quiet Tinnitus
The
Better Hearing Institute joined with ATA in recognizing
National
Tinnitus Awareness Week (TAW), from May 13 to 19, 2012, and is raising
awareness of hearing aids as a potential therapy to help quiet chronic
"ringing in the ears." According to a BHI study published in The Hearing Review, 43.5 percent of
people with tinnitus were helped at least mildly with hearing aids. And
3 out of 10 were helped moderately-to-substantially. For those whose
audiologists used best practices in fitting hearing aids, the figure
jumped to 50 percent.
Cellular
Mechanisms of Tinnitus Identified
Researchers in the University of
Leicester's Department of Cell Physiology and Pharmacology have identified
a cellular mechanism that could underlie the development of
tinnitus following exposure to loud noises. The discovery could lead to
novel tinnitus treatments, and investigations into potential drugs to
prevent tinnitus are currently under way.
Randomized
Controlled Trial: CBT and Sound Therapy for Tinnitus
Cognitive behavioral therapy, in which patients are encouraged to
discuss their difficulties with tinnitus, can
also help patients to think differently about the condition and
learn manage it better in the long term. Scientists at Adelante
Department of Audiology and Communication, Hoensbroek, Netherlands,
studied 492 patients and found those treated with CBT and sound therapy
saw significant improvements in their quality of life after a year,
compared with sufferers who had standard sound therapy.
Other
Tinnitus-Related News and Links of Interest:
Congressional
Hearing Health Caucus Has Record Attendance of Representatives
Tinnitus
Prevalence
A Visual
Guide to Tinnitus
Neuromonics
Clinical Summary Details Results in Effective Tinnitus Treatment
New
Approach Could Help Relieve Ringing in the Ears
** For all your
“Tinnitus in the News” information, visit ATA.org/news. **
| ATA Support Network Updates |
Since February 2012, six new support groups have started and five new
help network volunteers have joined our listing! Thank you to the
individuals who are lending their time to help other tinnitus sufferers!
Bill Altland -
Medford, OR help network volunteer
Sal Gentile* - Tampa
tinnitus support group
Chris Martin - Eatontown, NJ help network volunteer
Steve McDowell*
- Durham tinnitus support group
Tom Merrill - Ft.
Meyers, FL help network volunteer
Rebecca Parrish* -
Inland Empire tinnitus support group
Mike Rose -
Midlothian tinnitus support group
Linda S. Saraceni* -
Syracuse tinnitus support group
Carl Varner -
Fairfax, VA help network volunteer
Jerry Wilkinson -
Upper Keys tinnitus support group
Art Winterfeld -
Wesley Chapel, FL help network volunteer
*also a help
network volunteer
To view ATA’s
full Support Network listing, and obtain the
contact information for these groups and volunteers visit ATA.org/support.
Check ATA's online calendar
for upcoming support group meetings.
If you are interested in becoming a support group leader or help
network volunteer, please contact Katie Fuller at katie@ata.org.
| The Lighter Side of Tinnitus |
Thanks for reading the June 2012 ATA
Electronic Newsletter!
We welcome
ideas and contributions
from our members. Please send to editor@ata.org.
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