Tinnitus Research and Treatment Act of 2012 petition

[Jonazz]

Tinnitus, or permanent “ringing in the ears,” often accompanies hearing loss and can be a debilitating condition. Tinnitus is most often the result of extreme noise exposure from explosions or the accumulation of noise exposure.

Many soldiers and young people (approximately 20 % of people under 25!) have Tinnitus, a constant ringing or buzzing in the ears. As you can imagine, this can be very annoying. There is a bill to increase funding for tinnitus research. Because there is a small chance of it succeeding, a petition has been made to raide attention of the bill to the white house.

Could you guys be so kind to sign this petition? I have tinnitus for a few weeks now and while I can live with it, it can be annoying at time (especially when I'm already having trouble sleeping, the tinnitus only makes it worse). This bill can generate funds for much needed research on this syndrome.

You can sign the petition here:
https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions/! ... t/3PCPZFfq

You need to make an account to be able to sign, but I've found the white house website to be quite full of useful information.

[Abyssal_Angel]

Many soldiers and young people (approximately 20 % of people under 25!) have Tinnitus,

I'm not usually one to nitpick and I understand that Tinnitus is a very annoying and serious condition, however I gotta ask where you are pulling this number from? It seems unreasonably high(fantastic).

I sincerely hope that your petition gets a lot of attention.

Best regards.

[Jonazz]

First of all, thanks for signing (I presume you did).

Second, I got the numbers from a dutch news article from a week back that stated 18 % of young people in Flanders have tinnitus.
http://nieuwsblad.be/article/detail.asp ... 120515_171

I googled a bit and found this:

Tinnitus is common; about 20% of people between 55 and 65 years old report symptoms on a general health questionnaire, and 11.8% on more detailed tinnitus-specific questionnaires.

Tinnitus affects one third of adults at some time in their lives, whereas ten to fifteen percent are disturbed enough to seek medical evaluation[36] About two million Americans are so seriously disturbed by tinnitus that they cannot function on a day-to-day basis. (American Tinnitus Association, 2010).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tinnitus

Targeted nerve stimulation could yield a long-term reversal of tinnitus, a sometimes debilitating hearing impairment affecting at least 10 percent of senior citizens and up to 40 percent of military veterans, according to an article posted in today’s online edition of Nature.

http://www.utdallas.edu/news/2011/1/13- ... ticle.html

Although hearing loss and tinnitus affect around ten percent of the population, there are currently no drugs available to treat or prevent tinnitus.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 100044.htm

So yes, quite some people have tinnitus, luckily most of them learn to live with and go on with their daily lives!

[Leonardo]

I've had it since a small child...actually, as far back as I can remember (nearly five decades). I thought it was normal until I was old enough to have the vocabulary to talk to others about the ringing I constantly heard. I learned to live with it. It still drives me nuts sometimes though, especially in social gatherings, where I can hear someone all the way across a room or hall but can't understand the person next to me. I avoid parties and the like simply because I hear everything, and nothing.

[stevedking]

Oddly, Tinnitus has been a benefit to me. I got mine back in 1993. Before I had Tinnitus, I could not concentrate on anything while studying, reading, watching TV, thinking, or focus on any kind of problem solving BECAUSE I could hear every step someone made while they walked, hear every bird, hear every wisper in the library, .... basically any sound ever so small would pull my attention away from what I was trying to focus on.

And now that I have Tinnitus, it has given me relief from external distractions and now I can concentrate more clearly on any task at hand because somehow, the high pitch rining comforts me and allows me to focus on the task at hand. Sounds darn crazy... but it's my friend.

[mdk777]

18 % of young people in Flanders have tinnitus.

Article I recall reading stated that close to %100 of youth in the US will have some hearing loss due to imbedded ear speakers.
Perhaps you really don't need that music blaring in your ears 24/7.

end old man rant.

[Jonazz]

Oddly, Tinnitus has been a benefit to me. I got mine back in 1993. Before I had Tinnitus, I could not concentrate on anything while studying, reading, watching TV, thinking, or focus on any kind of problem solving BECAUSE I could hear every step someone made while they walked, hear every bird, hear every wisper in the library, .... basically any sound ever so small would pull my attention away from what I was trying to focus on.

And now that I have Tinnitus, it has given me relief from external distractions and now I can concentrate more clearly on any task at hand because somehow, the high pitch rining comforts me and allows me to focus on the task at hand. Sounds darn crazy... but it's my friend.

For most people (including myself) it's the other way around. But this is great for you!

[stevedking]

Here's a tip. Eat raw garlic (uncooked). It makes the pitch of the sound go high, that it almost goes away. Try 2 or 3 cloves in a sandwich.

[tcphillips]

From Leonardo..."...especially in social gatherings, where I can hear someone all the way across a room or hall but can't understand the person next to me...."

My wife complains it only seems to be her that I can't hear...or choose not to hear.