Good question
@Mario martz,
In the
Awareness & Fundraising category you will find threads similar to yours.
You will also find in the threads why it isn't as simple as "demanding a relief," it just doesn't work that way. There is constant research going into tinnitus, more so than ever before. You might want to
read our covering of the Tinnitus Research Initiative 2016 conference.
I want to start this off by making you aware that there are a number of other, arguably worse conditions than tinnitus, that have much more funding going around, with no respite available.
Two examples:
ALS
The Ice Bucket Challenge raised some $115M for ALS. No good treatments. No cure.
Parkinson's
Michael J. Fox's Foundation (Parkinson's):
89% of their income goes to research programs. In 2010 it was $55M, 2011 $62M, 2012 $63M, 2013 $77M and 2014 $76M.
MJFF funded $333M worth of research during 2010-2014.
Result so far: no cure, and, as far as I know, treatments are lacking as well (there are some drugs to ease the symptoms and options such as Deep Brain Stimulation that can help with the disabling motor symptoms).
Granted, research can take its time and who knows how things progress over the next years.
But tinnitus? American Tinnitus Association can fund tinnitus research annually in the ballpark of $300,000 - $400,000 (someone correct me if I'm wrong, I don't have the exact numbers in front of me).
NIH (National Institutes of Health in the US)
has funded Tinnitus Retraining Therapy research with several millions of dollars. Without a doubt the largest set of funds any tinnitus therapy modality has ever received.
All the while there might be
some missed opportunities (warning: you might scratch your head after realizing how much the US government spends on tinnitus related disability payments and how little love tinnitus gets)
As a forum collective, there is little to no chance we would be able to run a fundraising campaign, one that makes a major difference for research, that is. Put up a fundraising page and they come? No, it doesn't work like that. Even if we devoted maximum effort on our end to advertise such a campaign, it would be like trying to cross the Atlantic Ocean with a wooden raft. This of course is fully dependent on what would be your goal for such a fundraiser, but even $100,000 would be very far-fetched, let alone a million (ATA's yearly budget!).
What makes matters even more difficult, is that the healthy population have little empathy for tinnitus. Unlike
the Donkey Sanctuary, which had an income of a whopping £32.4M in 2014.
My older daughter has never once said anything about my tinnitus but after seeing my skin she said: oh my god, that must be terrible, I'm sorry you have to deal with that! She even started crying.
5 years of tinnitus hell and not a single word of sympathy.
So unless it's visible..... the world is full of professor fucks!
Not to mention that a significant majority of those experiencing tinnitus deal well with it. Many would rather spend their money on their family than donate to tinnitus causes.
That said...
What you can do...
Awareness and advocacy work is important. A good example is
@attheedgeofscience: he's written several excellent in-depth articles in a bid to raise awareness. He has even contacted a department of the European Union (regarding noise regulation, hearing protection at music venues, etc). There are other excellent awareness volunteers here on Tinnitus Talk too — we should be doing a write-up on them soon.
Awareness and advocacy work never goes to waste. Every single person whose thinking can be shaped, who can be made aware of the devastating effects of loud noise (and other causes of tinnitus) is a win in my book. Every single person who feels alone with this condition and needs peer support and is provided with it, is a win in my book. Awareness and advocacy work benefit both non-sufferers and sufferers.
You could
join one of the Tinnitus Talk Teams to volunteer your skills.
You can
like our Facebook page and share & like the stories we post there (don't forget
our Twitter either!)
There is of course loads more that you can do but it's good to start from those smaller, more realistic things.
Lastly, you should talk about tinnitus! In my experience, the majority of people don't want to talk about it with their friends, let alone acquaintances. It's difficult to raise awareness and make a difference in any capacity when people rather keep it to themselves than make some noise...!
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