Heroes of Tinnitus
Awareness Week 2012 Continued from Page 7
Act for Fiscal Year 2012. Inhofe said, “Our men and women in uniform deserve the best treatment for their selfless sacrifice. With over 215,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans diag- nosed with tinnitus, we must ensure they receive the proper resources to treat this debilitating condition.”
Colonel Mark Packer, M.D.
Colonel Mark Packer, M.D., Interim Executive Director for the Department of Defense’s Hearing Center of Excellence,
and a Board Certified neuro-otologist, was a featured guest on a national radio show to discuss the prevalence of tinnitus and hearing loss in U.S. veterans and what is being done at the federal level to help. Listen to the interview at
Tinyurl.com/7sppeed (segment begins at 40:00).
Top left: Sal Gentile and his “Top of the Bay Rails n Trails” Tour de Tinnitus team celebrate after their ride. Top right: Ed and Lynnae Ruttledge, “Team Northwest” bike across the finish line in solidarity with the Portland Walkers. Middle left: Marlon Dale of Tour de Tinnitus team “New England Crusaders” on his journey. Middle right: Evie Fuller, the youngest “walker” at the Portland event! Bottom right: Team “Daniel’s Walking Toward a Cure” crosses the finish line at the 2012 Jack Vernon Walk to Silence Tinnitus.
This year’s Walk effort was the most successful to date. At the time of this writing it raised $10,000 more than last year for a total of nearly $45,000. This was largely due to the incredibly generous matching gift challenge sponsored by three anonymous ATA members. These three pledged to double-match all dona- tions of $25 or more (up to $35,000 total) – meaning that for every $25 donated to the Walk, combined they would donate an additional $50! Their challenge spoke vol- umes and donors stepped up to make sure that we got the match, many increasing their gifts from what they have done in the past.
At the end of the day, with your generous support, we raised well over $140,000 from these three events, all of which will support ATA’s efforts to find a cure or novel treatment for tinnitus. We want to thank each and every donor – Members and their friends and family who supported these efforts. Without you we would not be able to work toward fulfilling our mission of curing tinnitus.
If you’d like to join the 2013 Tour de Tinnitus or start a Walk in your city or town, please contact Wes Breazeale at
wes@ata.org.
Bradley Vite
Bradley, who joined ATA’s Board of Directors in 2011, has made it his personal mission to raise aware- ness of tinnitus and hyperacusis, and in
turn increase support for research on both of these conditions. Having com- pleted two public service announce- ments for ATA, including one with Gale Sayers of Chicago Bears football fame, he has just begun to aid ATA with awareness efforts. For Tinnitus Awareness Week 2012, Bradley submit- ted press releases about the national event in newspapers throughout his home state of Indiana.
ATA thanks these individuals and all who participated in this year’s Tinnitus Awareness Week. Keep your eyes peeled for information from ATA about Tinnitus Awareness Week 2013, includ- ing when it will be and ways you can participate!
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