VOLUME 2, No .

5
October 19 7 7 NEWSU
THE AMERICAN TINNITUS ASSOCIATION
Message to the Members
by Robert Hocks
National Chairman
ATA in just three short years has become a feality.
This fantastic progress has been a combined effort
of your continuing support and of our hard-working
volunteers; as well as the research efforts of the
University of Oregon Health Sciences Center and
other medical disciplines throughout the country.
Hundreds of tinnitus sufferers are now receiving
relief through thirty Certified Tinnitus Clinics
that have been established. Our plans are to ex-
pand these clinics to every major area; hopefully,
early in 1978. We also have clinics in Canada,
Europe, and Australia, and the list is growing
weekly.
Our mailing list, which started at less than 100
people just two short years ago, now has over
2,500 people on it. Over 1,000 posters are in use
in professional offices. In conjunction with these
posters we have distributed 60,000 pieces of litera-
ture. We plan to double this within the next 12
months. Your continued support will make this goal
a reality and allow your association to continue to
bring relief to the more than 7-1/2 million severe
sufferers of tinnitus.
Together we have come a long way in a short time,
but now with our growing knowledge, we are confi-
dent that we can deliver this long awaited help.
Our network of local chapters will be formally es-
tablished in conjunction with the Certified Tinnitus
Clinics that will be located in your area. We will
then be asking you to volunteer your assistance in
this important work.
With you actively aboard, ATA will be in high gear
and speedily working towards making our goal a
reality.
by permission of (c) King Features
Sndicate Inc. 1977.
RELIEF oF TINNITUS BY MAsKING
by J. Vernon Ph. D. and
A. SohZeuning M.D.
Excerpts from a paper presented by Alexander
Schleuning, M.D. and Jack Vernon, Ph.D. at the
American Academy of Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology
Abstract
It has been possible to substitute a
masking sound for the patient's tinnitus
sound and thereby afford relief of the
tinnitus. In some cases where a hearing
loss is present it has been possible to
provide the masking by properly fitted
aids . In other cases where
is normal it has been possible to
provide the masking noise by use of a
Tinnitus Masker. In some cases of hearing
loss the tinnitus is not completely
masked by the aid. In these cases
a Tinnitus Instrument is used. This is
a combination of a aid and a
Tinnitus Masker built into a single case.
Our use of masking over time has come to employ
a variety of procedures, the selection of which
for a given case depends upon the patient's
hearing ability and the identity of the tinnitus.
..... there are some forms of tinnitus for which
we are unable, as yet, to provide any form of
relief. In our clinic we seem to see a great
variety of forms of tinnitus with any one form
hardly ever repeated. Thus we tend to group the
various forms of masking procedures into two
general classes: masking provided by various kinds
of hearing aids and masking provided by various
kinds of Tinnitus Maskers . ...... .
, .. the upper frequency 1 imitation of presen.t day
hearing aid: restricts their use for certain kinds
of tinnitus. When the hearing loss is such as to
benefit from a hearing aid, but the tinnitus is
above 4,500-5,000Hzthe relief of tinnitus, if
present at all, will be much less than complete.
Fortunately most people have tinnitus in the
1,500-5,000 Hz range; however, there are many with
tinnitus above 5,000 Hz. This combination of high
frequency tinnitus and high frequency hearing loss
presents a special problem ....
.... there does not seem to be any rule governing
the relationship between the nature of the hearing
loss and the pitch of the tinnitus ..... more usually
the tinnitus is within the hearing loss region ....
.... many people come to the tinnitus clinic with
normal hearing but with severe tinnitus ... 80%
experienced relief ....
excerpts continued ...
.... recdll that the masker produces a band of
noise whose energy is concentrated from about
2,000-5,000 Hz ..... when tinnitus falls in this
region the Tinnitus Masker has an excellent chance
of providing complete relief, providing hearing in
this region is adequate ...
.... there are cases where the masker may have made
the tinnitus worse. These are cases where the
tinnitus is very high pitched {perhaps 10,000 Hz
or more) .... this is why we insist upon properly
identifying the pitch of the tinnitus.
.... most often patients use the word "roar" to
describe low frequency tinnitus ... aside from con-
ductive problems we have found low frequency
tinnitus in the severe form to be rare.
.... we have come to the belief that the "loudness"
of tinnitus does not correlate with the severity
of distress .... loud tinnitus surely will be dis-
tressful but tinnitus need not be loud in order to
be distressful
The completed r>eport wiU be pubUshed in the
Transactions of Amer. Acad. 0 & 0, 1977, 82nd
Ann>.Aal Meeting.
National Headquarters
by Gloria Reich
Administrator
Some of you have probably wondered what goes on at
the National Headquarters office of the ATA. First
of all, that lofty title is but a euphemism for one
desk, a telephone, a few files and a large stack of
printed material. Volunteers maintain membership
records and also the now rather large mailing list
for this newsletter.
The newsletter itself is edited by Herlene D.
Benson who is employed at the Kresge Hearing Research
Laboratory and has been interested in AlA since its
inception, and in tinnitus in general about 5 years.
Before I proceed any further let me clarify the
physical set-up. To properly locate the ATA office
you must start with Portland, Oregon, then the Uni-
versity of Oregon Health Sciences Center, then The
Portland Center for Hearing and Speech, then to the
Kresge Hearing Research Laboratory (the upstairs floor
of PCHS) and finally ATA, a corner in the office of
the Kresge Lab. Clear?
Now, back to what we do here. The purple poster
displays with the orange brochures are mailed from
here by volunteers as the requests are received.
Donations to AlA are processed and provide monies to
carry on with this informational program.
Your gifts to ATA will help to support tinnitus re-
search. ATA is currently arranging for training of
professionals in order to establish Tinnitus Clinics
throughout the country. There are several started
now and we have a steady stream of hearing profes-
sionals receiving training in order to help the
tinnitus patient find relief measures suitable for
the individual.
The beautiful plaques which you saw pictured in a
previous newsletter are mailed out from here after
being wholly constructed by volunteers. These are
personalized and sent to donors of $100 or more.
Every Wednesday at noon the ATA "regulars" meet for
lunch to discuss the ATA program. Sometimes the
lunch group finds that they are pressed into service
to do some super volunteering such as licking 5,000
envelopes for a mailing.
More usually, they will be listening to Bob Hocks,
the National Chairman, tell of plans and projects to
further the growth of ATA ... and/or the staff at the
Kresge Lab relating research developments in the
battle to bring relief to tinnitus sufferers.
ATA is growing rapidly now and we are looking forward
in the near future to have material ready to help you
establish local chapters throughout the country.
There are some informational aids available and even
speakers can be arranged when travel schedules permit.
Would you like to help? Write to ATA, remember our
easy address is: American Tinnitus Association, P.O.
Box 5, Portland, Oregon 97207.(ATTN: Gloria Reich).
f'bVING ?
Please let us avoid missing you by
supplying us with your new address.
Availability of Tinnitus Maskers
Item Model No. Range {Hz)
Tinnitus Masker
{wide band)
S-344 2,000-5,000
Tinnitus Instrument S-244 varies
Low Frequency S-574 300-1,500
Tinnitus Masker
High Frequency S-564 3,000-7,000
Emphasis Masker
High Frequency 2,000-10,000
Headphones
Tinnitus Synthesizer varies
The above items a1e all available through the ex-
clusive distributorship of the American Tinnitus
Association who holds the patents on these units
To control distribution, the ATA has established
the following guidelines:
1. No patient may be fitted with any Tinnitus
Masker without the medical clearance for that
fitting from either an otologist or an oto-
laryngologist.
2. Those eligible to dispense the various masking
units must be "certified" by ATA. Certification
is obtained by successful completion of an ATA
sponsored course on the testing of tinnitus.
3. It is strongly encouraged that new Tinnitus
Clinics involve a team approach combining the
talents of an otologist or otolaryngologist, an
audiologist, and a hearing aid dispenser.
4. Those participating in the program will be
asked to make data available to a central col-
lection agency.
5. It is requested that patients fitted with any
of the masking devices be rechecked at the end of
one month and again at the end of one year.
6. Patients being fitted with the Tinnitus Masker
should be tested with that unit in the clinic to
ascertain the degree of masking the patient can
expect.
7. In no way, implied or otherwise, should any
patient be led to expect dn ever increasing amount
of residual inhibition* which might ultimately free
them of tinnitus.
8. Those desiring more information should contact
the American Tinnitus Association at P.O. Box 5,
Partland, Oregon 97207.
phenomena displayed during Tinnitu.; Testing
whereby tinnitus subsides for a short period fol -
lowing the presentation of a masking sound.
ATA Statement for the Month Ending
July 31, 1977
Beginning balance {7/l/76) $1 ,024.67
Revenue
General contributions $6,777.88
Memorial contributior.s ----'2'""'0 __ .""0-"-0
Expenses
Travel expenses $ 609.82
Education material:
printing, postage, posters,
stationery, envelopes,
newsletters $4,312.81
sub-total $1,875.25
Total Balance $2,899.92
aZZ research has been accomplished on a volun-
tary basis .
10/10/77 Herlene D. Benson
Kresge volunteers at work in the laboratory.
Advisory Board
CHAR UN ICE, M,O
10601 Ho' ley Avenue
Downey. Californ.a 9\)241
OAVIO O.WEESE, M,O,
Chtrm.an Oept,
Unwersity of Oregon
Health Sciences Cemer
Al..BERT ATTYAH, M.O.
VM:e Prt$dtnt ATA

of AtPrtterU&tives
United Suuu Congre"
BOB MclENNAN. M.O.
Alsemblytr'lan
Califocnll Legislature
HAR0'-0 WILKINS, M.D.
r.Aembtr C.l,focnta State Board of
Medal Exeminers
TONY HABEEB
Vieo Ptesidtnt Meno Media
CorPOration
KAV TOMA, M.O.
C.lifornia Slte Soard ot ""'e<fk:al

ROBERT HOCKS
Hocks Labew'atOtiiOS
Portland. Oregoo
ATA Newsletter
Herlene Benson, Editor
3515 S.W. Veterans Hospital Rd.
Portland, Oregon 97201


37 mi ll ion suffer from tinnitus
ANNUAL CONTRIBUTION AMERICAN TINNITUS ASSOCIATION
Regular Member $ l Oormore 0
Sustaining Member $ 25 or more 0
Patron $100 or more
0
Benefactor $500 or more 0
YOUR GIFT IS TAX DEDUCTIBLE
Do you know someone who has tinnitus and would like to receive our newsletter?
Name ________________________________________ ___
Address -----------------------------------------
The American Ti nnitus As soci at ion
P. 0. Box 5
Portland, Oregon 97207
(503) 248 9985
State, Zip