The American Tinnitus Association (ATA) is celebrating National Tinnitus Awareness Week (TAW), May 13 - 19, 2012. This year, ATA is "going for gold" in its efforts to raise awareness and encourage people across the United States and around the world to help educate people about "ringing in the ears."

The premiere TAW 2012 event is the Tour de Tinnitus, a new bike ride fundraiser for the organization that was started last year by long time ATA member Mark Church. His efforts last year spawned great interest and the ride has grown to incorporate five new teams that will participate in four separate rides to raise money to support tinnitus research.

"While we are increasingly encouraged by the growing interest in and pace of tinnitus research, there are still hundreds of millions of people worldwide who suffer with this condition on a daily basis," said Mark K. Johnson, J.D., Chair of the ATA Board of Directors. "ATA's mission is to silence tinnitus by funding research, and we can only accomplish this with increased awareness of how tinnitus can ruthlessly reduce a person's life and increased visibility for ATA's mission. That's why the efforts of the folks who are participating in the Tour de Tinnitus are so crucial to the success of our mission - and why we're so grateful to them for their volunteer spirit and desire to stand up for a cause that means so much to all of us," said Johnson.

Tinnitus is the perception of sound where no external source is present. Most commonly caused by noise exposure, tinnitus impacts up to 50 million Americans and of those 16 million suffer from chronic intrusive tinnitus. Tinnitus disproportionately impacts veterans and at the end of 2011 over 840,000 veterans were service-connected for it, making it the leading disability for that population. This includes over 215,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who are developing tinnitus in record numbers. Because of these surges, raising awareness of this lesser-known condition is imperative.

ATA has developed a TAW 2012 section on their website at ATA.org/TAW2012. From requesting proclamations from locally and nationally elected officials, to contacting your local media outlets, sharing tinnitus-related crosswords and posters, ATA has all the information you'll need to get started in raising some serious tinnitus-awareness!

About the American Tinnitus Association

The American Tinnitus Association (ATA), headquartered in Portland, Ore., is the nation's foremost organization committed to curing tinnitus. For over 40 years, ATA has helped tinnitus patients understand and manage the "ringing in their ears." ATA exists to cure tinnitus through the development of resources that advance tinnitus research. Founded in 1971, ATA has contributed millions of dollars to medical research projects focused on curing tinnitus. The association also provides information on tinnitus to the public and advocates for effective public policies that support its mission of curing tinnitus. ATA.org.

Source: ATA