Tinnitus FAQ www.bixby.org/faq/tinnitus.html [t-faq logo] a resource for understanding tinnitus, not a substitute for a health care provider --------------------------------------------------------------------------- top of page Offline Resources Quick Directory Organizations * Australia * Canada * France * Germany * The Netherlands * Spain * United Kingdom * United States Publications * Books * Symposium Papers --------------------------------------------------------------------------- top of page Offline Resources Organizations The following organizations all support tinnitus/hearing research and provide information for tinnitus sufferers. Frequently they are the sole force behind tinnitus research in their home countries. Joining one of these organizations in the best thing that you can do so that research towards a cure will be funded. Australia Australian Tinnitus Association (NSW) Ltd 9 Ice Street DARLINGHURST NSW 2010 Phone (V): (02) 9361 7331, (02) 9361 7338 TTY: - Fax: (02) 9361 7333 Postal Address: PO Box 660 WOOLLAHRA 2025 This is a self-help and support group for those with Tinnitus. It provides a quarterly newsletter, and encourages research into the causes of Tinnitus. Canada TINNITUS ASSOCIATION OF CANADA 23 Ellis Park Road Toronto, ON Canada M6S 2V4 Co-ordinator: Mrs. Elizabeth Eayrs. A newsletter is available for $8.00 annual subscription fee. return to Quick Directory France FRENCH TINNITUS ASSOCIATION France Acouphènes La Varizelle F 69510 THURINS phone and telefax 78817312 The association publishes a magazine called Tinnitussimo. Dues and services presently unknown. return to Quick Directory Germany DTL (DEUTSCHE TINNITUS LIGA) Postfach 349 D-42353 Wuppertal Germany Phone: ++49-(0)202-464584 This organization consisting of tinnitus sufferers and some supporting medical professionals is one of the biggest ones. Members get lots of information about medicines, new therapies and the sites which offer them. Membership includes the quarterly DTL newspaper named Tinnitus Forum. The DTL also organizes member meetings and workshops. Detailed info about the DTL activities and membership (min. 60.- DM per year) can be obtained by writing to the address written above. return to Quick Directory The Netherlands LANDELIJK BUREAU VAN DE NEDERLANDSE VERENIGING VOOR SLECTHORENDEN ter attentie van de Commissie Tinnitus Postbus 9505 3506 GM Utrecht The Netherlands Phone: +31 30 617616 Fax: +31 30 616689 The Dutch Tinnitus Committee operates under the auspices of the Dutch Society for the Hard-of-Hearing (N.V.V.S.), and has the following goals: * To gather information about this disorder, and to use this information to educate the tinnitus patient personally and by regional meetings, organized by the local N.V.V.S.-department. * To support the tinnitus patient and try and teach him to accept his disorder via a network of contactmen spread throughout the country. * To help these contactmen give advice to others, and to inform them about the latest developments in the field of Tinnitus. * To organize local self-help and discussion groups, and to bring tinnitus patients into contact with fellow sufferers. * To maintain ties with sister organizations in and outside the country, and to issue the gathered information to those who are interested in it. return to Quick Directory Spain ASOCIACION DE PERSONAS AFECTADAS POR TINITUS(Acúfenos) Aribau, 258 1º 1a 08006 Barcelona España Offers support and information. Membership is: 3000 pesetas per year. return to Quick Directory United Kingdom BRITISH TINNITUS ASSOCIATION 4th. Floor White Building Fitzalan Square Sheffield S1 2AZ 0114 279 6600 (general enquiries) 0114 273 0122 (office) 0114 279 6222 (Fax.) To join the BTA, the subs are 5 pounds sterling UK - 8 pounds sterling overseas members. The quarterly magazine Quiet is inclusive. They have a number of aims, outlined in the magazine: * To obtain greater funding of the Medical Research Council to extend current tinnitus research * To lobby for the creation of more tinnitus-only clinics in the UK * To promote greater acceptance of tinnitus as a handicap in the granting of employment, disability and other welfare benefits * To obtain free and universal availability of ear-worn tinnitus maskers to sufferers capable of finding relief from them * To obtain a higher priority place for tinnitus in individual hospital budgets * To improve the training of GPs to include greater emphasis on tinnitus management * To promote stricter control of noise in the workplace * To aim for maximum sound levels in discotheques * To have health education programmes to warn of the dangers of excessive noise, and to have the equipment manufacturers to endorse the warnings return to Quick Directory United States AMERICAN TINNITUS ASSOCIATION P.O. Box 5 Portland, OR 97207-0005 USA +1 503 248 9985 http://www.teleport.com/~ata Funds research, does lobbying, provides information, educates the public, has a national self-help network, and a professional referrals list by geographic region that lists ENTs, audiologists, dentists, psychiatrists, and psychologists that are all well-educated about tinnitus. If you're searching for knowledgable medical professional tinnitus information, you might want to start here. US $25 per year, outside US $35/year (professionals $35 and $50 respectively) check, VISA, MasterCard. Membership includes a year's subscription to ATA's quarterly journal, Tinnitus Today. A brief history of the ATA and their relationship to the neighboring OHRC and OHSU as provided by the Oregon Hearing Research Center: A doctor by the name of Charles Unice, from California, wanted to know what was being done about tinnitus (he was a sufferer), so he contacted the National Institutes of Health, who referred him to our laboratory. The Kresge Hearing Research Laboratory (US, in 1978 or so) was the only place in the United States doing research on tinnitus funded by the NIH at that time. Unice decided to found an ATA with the purpose of disseminating information about tinnitus and, if possible, providing money for research on tinnitus problems. The ATA was started here in Portland, in order to be close to the research taking place. There were some interested citizens in Portland who helped start ATA. It was started under the "umbrella" of the University of Oregon Medical School (now called the Oregon Health Sciences University). It was started in Oregon, as opposed to Dr. Unice's home state of California, because of simpler tax laws here. Eventually, the ATA became an independent organization from the Medical School and is now doing quite well. They have offices in the downtown area of Portland, OR. In 1985, the Kresge Hearing Research Laboratory became the Oregon Hearing Research Center. We are the research division of the Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery Dept. of the Oregon Health Sciences University. We're located in the west hills of Portland, above downtown. Dr. Vernon writes a column for the ATA in their Tinnitus Today publication. Members of the OHRC are often asked to review grant applications for ATA, as are other researchers in the area of tinnitus across the country. OHRC staff are also consulted for information regarding brochures and literature ATA develops. They refer calls and letters when they cannot provide the answers. Other than that, OHRC does not have any official ties to ATA. We are not receiving funding from them at this time (I say at this time because it is possible we could apply for grant applications in the future), and they receive no funding from the OHSU nor the OHRC. Their funding comes from contributions from their members and combined charitable campaigns. The OHSU Biomedical Information and Communications Center (BICC) has taken on as one of their missions to provide internet access to health providers in the state of Oregon. The ATA, as an organization who provides health information to the public, was given internet access by the OHSU. This does not mean that they are a part of OHSU. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- H.E.A.R. (Hearing Education and Awareness for Rockers) P.O. Box 460847 San Francisco, CA 94146 USA +1 415 773 9590 This is the H.E.A.R. ad from Bass Player Magazine: CHANGE THE COURSE OF MUSIC HISTORY Hearing loss has altered many careers in the music industry. H.E.A.R. can help you save your hearing. A non-profit organization founded by musicians and physicians for musicians and other music professionals, H.E.A.R. offers information about hearing loss, testing, and hearing protection. For an information packet, send $10.00 to: H.E.A.R. P.O. Box 460847 San Francisco, CA 94146 or call the H.E.A.R. 24-hour hotline at (415) 773-9590. (small print at bottom): Musicians speak out about hearing loss. A promotional video made exclusively for H.E.A.R., Can't Hear You Knocking c1990 Flynner Films, 17 minute VHS, features Ray Charles, Pete Townshend, Lars Ulrich, and other music industry professionals spotlight the dangers and effects of hearing loss. Send $39.95 plus S&H, $5 US/$10 Over seas to: (above address). All donations are tax-deductible. (even smaller print): CHYK, 57 minute VHS. The Cinema Guild, NY. Can't Hear You Knocking, full length 57 minute video documentary is available through the Cinema Guild of New York, 1697 Broadway Ste. 506 New York, NY 10019, office: 212-246-5522 fax: 212-246-5525. (Flynner Films, Stockholm, Sweden). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- NIH/National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) 9000 Rockville Pike Bethesda, MD 20892 +1 301 496-7243 +1 301 402-0252 (TDD/TT for the hearing impaired) [Services presently unknown] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR RARE DISORDERS (NORD) P.O. Box 8923 New Fairfield, CT 06812-1783 +1 203 746-6518 +1 203 746-6927 (TDD for the hearing impaired) [Dues and services presently unknown] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- MENIERE CROUZON SYNDROME SUPPORT NETWORK 2375 Valentine Dr., #9 Prescott, AZ 96303 [Dues and services presently unknown] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE E.A.R. FOUNDATION ATTN: Meniere's Network 2000 Church Street Nashville, TN 37236 +1 615 329-7807 (Voice & TDD) [Dues and services presently unknown] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- VESTIBULAR DISORDERS ASSOCIATION PO Box 4467 Portland, OR 97208-4467 +1 503 229-7705 answering machine +1 503 229-8064 FAX E-Mail: veda@teleport.com Web: http://www.teleport.com/~veda Memberships are US$15 per year. VEDA has about 6,000 members worldwide; about 2,500 of them are part of a pen-pal network that shares information individually. We maintain a list of local support groups (about 100 of these now in North America), a list of physicians and clinics interested in these disorders, and a list of physical therapists who do vestibular rehab. We also have a large collection of documents, booklets, and videotapes on these topics, and we publish a quarterly newsletter. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE HYPERACUSIS NETWORK 444 Edgewood Drive Green Bay, WI 54302-4873 +1 414 468-4663 +1 414 432-3321 FAX The Hyperacusis Network consists of individuals who have a common goal - to share information and support each other knowing fully well that our condition at this time is misunderstood and not curable. No one knows more about our condition than we do. As a network, we work at ways to improve our condition and educate the medical community about hyperacusis. There is no membership fee to receive the quarterly network news letter although donations are greatly appreciated to help defray costs of paper, printer, postage, photocopy repairs and long distance phone calls. Our staff consists of Dan Malcore as editor. Our supporting editors are people from all over the world, like yourself, who write into the network. Most have hyperacusis (sound sensitive), recruitment (sound sensitive with hearing loss), tinnitus (ringing in the ears), vertigo (dizziness) or Meniere's disease (combination of auditory problems). Some are from the medical community who seek to learn and understand. We applaud this since E.N.T.s (Ear, Nose and Throat) doctors are renown for misdiagnosing our condition, giving poor advice or subjecting our ears to tests which make our ears worse. Some in the network are parents of autistic children who seek to understand why their precious children cover their ears and run from noise. Autistic children have hyperacute hearing which is somewhat different that hyperacusis yet our reactions to sounds are nearly the same. We network with organizations throughout the world like the American Tinnitus Association, Canadian Tinnitus Association, National Institute on Deafness and Communications Disorders (NIDCD), Autism Research Institute and H.E.A.R (Hearing Education & Awareness for Rockers) just to name a few. Many doctors, audiologists, and health organizations around the world continually refer people to our network. Many have found our quarterly newsletters to be an essential tool in helping themselves and their families understand hyperacusis. For those who want to become current, all back issues are available for a fee of US$35.00. If you choose to join the network you can request the 14-page supplement which explains hyperacusis in great detail. Contact the t-faq maintainer, rleaster@aol.com with information about other organizations to assist individuals interested in tinnitus. return to Quick Directory --------------------------------------------------------------------------- top of page Offline Resources Publications Books * Shulman, Abraham, M.D., Tinnitus: Diagnosis/Treatment, Lea & Febiger, 1991 ISBN 0-8121-1121-4. This is a several hundred page medical book covering all aspects of tinnitus. It was used to confirm most of the medical statements in this document, and is highly recommended. * Hallam, Richard, Tinnitus: Living with the Ringing in Your Ears, Thorsons, Harper Collins Publishers, 77-85 Fulham Palace Road, Hammersmith, London W6 8JB. A straightforward introduction to the nature of tinnitus distress and what can be done about it. * McFadden, Dennis, ed., Tinnitus: Facts, Theories and Treatments, Working Group 89, National Research Council, National Academy Press, Washington, DC, 1982. * Hazell, Jonathan, Tinnitus, Churchill-Livingstone, London, ISBN #0-443-02156-2, 1987. * Vernon, Jack A. and Moller, A.R., Mechanisms of Tinnitus, Allyn & Bacon, Needham Heights, MA. ISBN #0-205-14083-1, 1994. * Van Valkenburgh, Paul, Tinnitus - New Hope for a Cure, Published by the author, P.O. Box 3611, Seal Beach, Ca 90740, ISBN 0-9617425-2-6 (to order: send $15.00 (ppd. in USA) to: TINNITUS-N, Box 3611, Seal Beach, CA 90740). http://members.aol.com/neurosense/tinnitus.html. An in-depth probe into the problem of tinnitus, which is informative and thought provoking for the layman and professional. * ....., The Tinnitus Handbook - A Self-Help Guide, United Research Publishers, 103 North Highway 101, Dept. RB-10, Encinitas, CA 92024 * Kitahara, Masaaki, ed., Tinnitus: Pathophysiology and Management, Igaku-Shoin, Tokyo, Japan. return to Quick Directory Symposium Papers * Proceedings of the 1st International Tinnitus Seminar, The Journal of Laryngology and Otology, Supplement 4, 1979. * Proceedings of the 2nd International Tinnitus Seminar, The Journal of Laryngology and Otology, Supplement 9, 1984. * Proceedings of the 3rd International Tinnitus Seminar, Published by Karlsruhe, Germany, 1987. * Proceedings of the 4th International Tinnitus Seminar, Published in France (in English). * Tinnitus, Ciba Foundation Symposium 85, 1981, Pitman Publishers, Lonson. return to Quick Directory --------------------------------------------------------------------------- top of page home to t-faq Remember, the t-faq is a resource. For medical care, visit your health care professional. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- t-faq maintainer, rleaster@aol.com