ATA Announces Pathway for US Government Funding for Tinnitus Research

It appears there have been some recent developments as far as funding tinnitus research in the US thru the National Institute of Health (NIH).

If you check ATA's FB page the NIDCD strategic plan is mentioned. NIDCD, which stands for National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, is the institute within the NIH that is responsible for tinnitus research.

NIDCD has a new director and their strategic plan will be updated by 2022. The new director is keen to have patient input into the plan and ATA has stated it will let everyone know when the comment period opens up.

You may be aware that Tinnitus Hub submitted comments to NICE in the UK on their guidelines for tinnitus. It's my hope that we can do something similar on behalf of US members of Tinnitus Talk.

Please stay tuned and let's use this thread for discussion as needed.

Many thanks, TC

 

So... more papers about personality sub-types and habituation techniques?

 

That remains to be seen, but the good news is that people with tinnitus will have the opportunity to comment on NDICD's strategic plan. And, it's about time for that to happen in the US. Also, keep in mind that ATA has announced it's partnering with BTA to which it's been made abundantly clear that research for effective treatments and cures are what is needed.

It's important that we monitor this closely as it unfolds. The strategic plan will influence the amount of funding NDICD recommends to NIH which in turn will incorporate it and submit their budget to Congress. The budget process in the US is complicated so that's it in a nutshell.

So, if you come across any new information please share it here.

Thanks, TC

 

My wife and I were talking about it last night and in reality, this is such a huge problem that only big pharma is going to be able to ante up the cash needed to develop an intervention. We are lucky too because this condition is now fully on big pharma's radar and geniuses have discovered how to regrow hair cells, and hopefully that cures tinnitus.

I am super skeptical of the ATA's ability to get us anywhere beyond more advanced habituation therapy. I am okay with that though. I am looking at Frequency Therapeutics and Audion, and Decibel Therapeutics and if their therapies don't pan out, then we will just have to learn to live like this until death.

 

I think curing hearing loss will help cure tinnitus to the extent that hearing loss causes tinnitus. It's certainly a viable avenue to treatment based on the strong association between hearing loss and tinnitus. Kudos to you and others on the forum that are monitoring and supporting developments in hearing loss restoration.

I agree about big pharma, but research has become so expensive that big pharma has become more about making deals and marketing. This leaves room for companies like Neuromod, Frequency, etc to do the research and development and get to the point where big pharma will buy their technology.

I share your skepticism but will hold out hope. If I have to die with tinnitus then I will die trying to help make progress towards a better understanding of tinnitus, effective treatments and cures.

TC

 

There is no "big pharma" in the tinnitus realm. Big CBT/TRT? Yes.

Frequency Therapeutics and Decibel Therapeutics aren't big pharma. They are biomedical companies who rely on investors. Near the end they are going to make deals with big pharma of course but right now the field of research is still slow. Frequency Therapeutics is ahead of everyone else so we can look at them as an example to see what we can expect from Decibel Therapeutics and Otonomy in the future.

 

Don't discount Audion.

 

Sadly, I don't think big pharma wants this until there is a visible path forwards. I think that's why ATA's research strategy has been funding seed grants for researchers to prove an idea's worth in order to gain funding from larger organizations/agencies. Funding for experimental/groundbreaking tinnitus research is going to have to be grassroots or governmental in my opinion... and while I am no fan of the ATA, their research funding (as little as it may be and they don't deserve a penny until they spend a larger portion of their contributions on it) does appear to be more cure focused than habituation focused.