Tinnitus Week

 

This picture was taken with Dianne Primavera at the State Capitol on

May 1 when the resolution was passed!

 

If you can imagine a screaming tea kettle blaring in your head 24/7,

that's what I've been dealing with for the past 12 years!!! I've worn

masking devices in my ears, known as Tinnitus Retraining Therapy,

years ago that did provide some relief, yet now there's yet another

noise I'm hearing in one ear especially on top of the tea kettle

noise!!! Doctors have not been very helpful with this problem, and it

is not just in my situation! Some 50 MILLION people just in America

have this problem, with 2-3 so severely affected they are not able to

work, much less have any quality of life! Many are so distressed, and

even SUICIDAL because of the current apathy towards and lack of

information about this problem! All I heard from doctors was "go

home and learn to live with it" , yet they don't tell you HOW!!! So,

out of frustration, I decided to take matters into my own hands...

 

I am an avid outdoors person, and enjoy running, climbing, hiking,

skiing and snowshoeing! These activities provide me with reprieve

from the constant clamor in my ears! In the summer of 2000, I decided

to do a fundraising climb on Mt. Rainier in Washington state called

EXPEDITION HOPEFUL CURE, and on that climb, despite not making it to

the summit, managed to raise awareness of this problem and over

$89,000.00 which was donated to American Tinnitus Association in

Portland, Oregon for continued and vital research for a cure! This

attempt was written about in the Rocky Mountain News, articles were

printed in local newspapers, and a story was presented by Sherry

Sellers, who at that time was a reporter with Channel 9 News! Most

importantly, public awareness was raised about this problem!

I was happy about raising a good amount of money for continued

research for an eventual cure at that time, yet was disappointed in

not reaching the summit, so last summer, I climbed Rainier again, and

this time MADE SUMMIT and raised over $350,000.00 which was once

again donated to ATA!!! This event was an incredible milestone for

ATA, being the BIGGEST campaign EVER for Tinnitus, not to mention an

incredible adventure for me, an ordinary person with an EXTRAORDINARY

DREAM, an eventual CURE for Tinnitus!

 

Not very many people even know what this problem is! Many call it,

Tendonitis! I WISH!!!! At least, tendonitis goes away... Since the

climb, I have been in contact with State Representative, Dianne

Primavera, in regards to getting a resolution passed to bring

attention to the problem of tinnitus and our society's exposure to

loud noises on a daily basis, such as lawnmowers, MP3 players, loud

music, concerts and even the sounds of airplanes as we board them to

travel!!! Also, our soldiers are returning from the war in Iraq in

alarming numbers with Tinnitus due to daily exposure to gunshots and

other artillery noises! We are spending HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS of

dollars on their disability payments, with only 2-3 million allocated

by the government for continued research for a cure for this

debilitating problem!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Long story short, the resolution PASSED at the State level last week,

thanks to Dianne Primavera's help, and I was present at the State

Capitol last week to partake of this momentous occasion!!! A few of

the House members even shared their personal stories and struggles

with this problem, so you see, it doesn't only affect the "common

folk!" So now, Weds. May 21, 2008 has been declared Tinnitus

Awareness Day here in Colorado, and I am determined, along with ATA,

to take this to the next level, to Congress, for even more awareness

and funding for this problem! I have even contacted congressman, Mark

Udall in this regard.