ATA is the only patient-centered membership association that directly funds research related to tinnitus. Since 1980, we have contributed over $6 million to research and supported hundreds of projects in the ongoing effort to improve our understanding of tinnitus, develop and optimize tinnitus treatments, and advance the search for an ultimate cure.
ATA's research program focuses on providing seed grants for the most new areas of tinnitus scientific exploration. Large research institutions — the U.S. Department of Defense or National Institutes of Health, for instance — often do not support projects until they have undergone initial exploratory testing. This keeps many good ideas from ever getting off the ground. ATA covers this funding gap by supporting tinnitus scientists through the preliminary phases of research, strategically kickstarting innovative pilot projects which may later qualify for large-scale funding from the government or other institutions.
Each year ATA solicits advanced tinnitus research proposals from scientists around the world. All research proposals are measured against ATA’s Roadmap to a Cure, a progressive framework for how tinnitus research can best — and most rapidly — be used to achieve a definitive cure for tinnitus. The project selection and funding process is guided by the association’s leadership, composed of leading researchers and thought leaders in the field of tinnitus.
Tinnitus research is very much focused on the neural networks responsible for tinnitus generation and maintenance. The infographic below, alongside our tinnitus and hyperacusis glossary can be helpful when reading scientific abstracts and research reports.
