New ATA-Funded Research Projects in 2014


In June, ATA named the recipients of our 2014 advanced tinnitus research grants. This year, the ATA Board of Directors approved $110,000 of total funding to support three unique and particularly promising tinnitus research projects. A synopsis of each proposal is included over the next few pages, so you can read more about these projects and their potential impact for tinnitus patients.


ATA is the only patient-centered association in the country that directly funds research related to tinnitus. Since 1980, we have contributed nearly $6 million to research and supported hundreds of projects in the ongoing effort to improve our understanding of tinnitus, develop better tinnitus treatments, and advance the search for an ultimate cure.


ATA’s Roadmap to a Cure


Scientific progress doesn’t work on a set timeline, but it generally does follow a certain cumulative progression. ATA’s Roadmap to a Cure is a framework for understanding the incremental research process that will lead us to a definitive cure for tinnitus. The Roadmap identifies general investigatory paths and highlights specific research questions and objectives within each pathway.


Roadmap Paths


Path A IDENTIFICATION OF TINNITUS GENERATOR(S): Determine sites in the ear or brain where tinnitus-producing signals arise.


Path B


ELUCIDATION OF MECHANISMS OF TINNITUS GENERATION: Determine the nature of abnormal signals and their underlying cellular and molecular causes.


Path C


DEVELOPMENT OF THERAPY: Assess the potential of intervention, manipulation, or treatment as a means of suppressing tinnitus.


A1. Identify areas in the auditory system exhibiting tinnitus- related abnormality.


Roadmap Path Details


A2a. Measure the changes in activity identified in A1.


A2b. Use or develop scientific metrics to assess tinnitus percepts in human or animal subjects with abnormalities identified in A1.


A3. Demonstrate that measures of tinnitus established in A2b are causally related to the abnormalities measured in A2a.


Each year, ATA solicits proposals from scientists around the world. All research proposals are measured against ATA’s “Roadmap for a Cure,” a progressive framework for how tinnitus research can best—and most rapidly—be used to achieve a definitive cure for tinnitus. The project selection and funding process is guided by the association’s Board of Directors and Scientific Advisory Committee, composed of leading researchers and thought leaders in the field of tinnitus.


Of course, ATA’s entire research program is possible only because of the generous support we receive from our members and donors—people just like you! Thank you for making an investment in ATA and in the scientific endeavors that each day bring us closer to a cure for tinnitus.


B1. Identify neural or cellular populations giving rise to tinnitus-generating signals.


B2. Determine the altered cellular processes in the cell populations defined in B1.


B3. Define the cellular triggers that induce the alterations identified in B2.


C1. Test therapeutic approaches to suppress tinnitus (electric/magnetic stimulation, drugs, surgery, acoustic stimulation).


C2. Use these approaches to target tinnitus generation sites defined in Path A.


C3A. Determine magnitude of therapeutic benefit of tinnitus treatment.


C3B. Assess side effects or risks associated with treatment.


Path D


OPTIMIZATION OF THERAPY: Define parameters of treatment that optimize suppression of tinnitus and minimize side effects.


D1. Refine therapeutic approaches to target specific tinnitus generators identified in Path B.


D2. Improve mode(s) of treatment delivery to reduce any side effects identified in Path C.


D3A. Establish dose/response relationships to maximize benefit and minimize side effects of treatment.


D4. Customize treatment to individual.


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