Quiet Issue 3 2020

QUIET
Issue Three 2020
QUIET 2020 Issue Three www.tinnitus.org.uk 1

Corporate members
AfterShokz
AngliEAR Hearing &
Tinnitus Solutions
Audiological
Specialist
Care Ltd
Autifony Therapeutics
Limited
Better
Hearing
Clinic
Bloom Hearing
Specialists
British
Academy
of Audiology
British Society
of Audiology
CAuRES Hearing Aid
Solutions
Cubex Ltd
Diane
Hammond
Independent
Audiologist
EarDial
Flare
Audio
Geraint Davies
Hearing Ltd
Guymark UK Limited
Halo
Hearing
Solutions
Thank you to all
our supporters!
Harley Street
Hearing
Hear Again
Limited
Hearbase
Hearing Aid
Solutions
Hear Pure and
Wellbeing
Hearwell
Ltd
Help in
Hearing Ltd
Hidden Hearing
HiKent
Isabella Fisher
Independent
Hearing Care
Island Hearing
Isle of Man
Hearing Solutions
Leightons
Opticians and
Hearing Care
M C Hearing
Neuromod
Devices Ltd
North East
Hearing and
Balance
Oticon
Oto Health Ltd
Peter Byrom
Audiology Ltd
Puretone Ltd
Scrivens Hearing Care
Sivantos Ltd
Smiths
Hearing
Care Ltd
Sonova UK
Limited
Sound Matters
Specsavers
Starkey Hearing
Technologies
The
Hearing
Coach
The Invisible
Hearing
Clinic
The Tinnitus
and
Hyperacusis
Network
The
Tinnitus
Clinic
Tinnitus
E-Programme
Widex UK Ltd
Hospital services
Barnsley Hospital NHS
Foundation Trust
Chesterfield Royal
Hospital NHS
Foundation Trust
Doncaster and
Bassetlaw Teaching
Hospitals NHS
Foundation Trust
East Kent University
Hospitals NHS
Foundation Trust
Gloucestershire
Hospitals NHS
Foundation Trust
Nobles Hospital
Isle of Man
Rotherham NHS
Foundation Trust
Royal Berkshire NHS
Foundation Trust
Royal Cornwall NHS
Foundation Trust
Royal Hallamshire
Hospital
(Sheffield Teaching Hospitals
NHS Foundation Trust)
Sandwell and West
Birmingham Hospitals
NHS Trust
Torbay and South
Devon NHS
Foundation Trust
Worcestershire Acute
Hospitals NHS Trust

BTA News 4
Improved membership offer
Changes to our shop
Our year in numbers
Covid-19 8
Tinnitus experiences in the pandemic
Events 14
New online events and webinars
Fundraising 24
How you can take steps to support us
Features 26
Beyond hearing aids
How I manage - techniques from yoga
For professionals 31
A conference like no other
Real lives 32
Luize and Henry share their stories
Tinnitus support 34
Tinnitus support team achievements
Support group listing
QUIET
Volume 31 Number 3 ISSN: 0968-1264
Christmas Appeal 10
Will you help children like Ewan?
Tinnitus Week 12
Launching our 2021 campaign
Research special 15
Socialising and sound
All in the genes?
£125k for tinnitus research
Is bimodal stimulation effective for
tinnitus?
Survey 17
Have your say about our services
Don't throw away the wrapper!
The wrapper for your magazine is now
compostable with your garden waste.
Contacts
Our Vision:
A world where no one suffers from tinnitus.
Our Mission:
We will drive progress towards a cure and deliver
excellent support to help people living with tinnitus.
tinnitus.org.uk
Editor
Nic Wray
nic@tinnitus.org.uk
Address
British Tinnitus Association, Ground Floor, Unit 5, Acorn
Business Park, Woodseats Close, Sheffield, S8 OTB
Registered charity no: 1011145. Registered in England.
Helpline
0800 018 0527
Whilst the British Tinnitus Association (BTA) makes every attempt to ensure the accuracy and reliability of information in this
magazine, it is not a substitute for medical advice. You should always see your GP/ medical professional. Advertisements for
organisations, products or services do not imply endorsement of them by the BTA. All views are those of the authors and not the BTA.

BTA NEWS
We've improved our membership!
Our members are at the heart of our work
and we wanted to ensure our membership
scheme reflected that. So we’ve made
some changes. For existing members,
these changes will apply from your next
renewal.
There are now a range of membership
types to suit you:
Standard
Digital
Mindful
Overseas
We’ve updated the benefits of being a
member of the BTA and introduced a Direct
Debit payment facility to make renewing
your membership easy for you.
Membership benefits
Our exclusive membership magazine,
Quiet, three times a year
Our monthly e-newsletter, Focus
A free gift to help focus the mind – a
mindfulness colouring book (for new
members)
Free sound therapy noise CDs – a choice
of white noise, brown noise, pink noise or
purple noise
Discounts on products for tinnitus
A complimentary place at our annual
Tinnitus Expo
The chance to have your say and to vote
for our trustees
Helping to fund our work in the world of
tinnitus support and research
Join us today!
Annual membership costs just
£20 and you can buy or renew
yours on our website at bit.ly/
JoinQ3
Together we can
silence tinnitus.
4 www.tinnitus.org.uk
QUIET 2020 Issue Three

OUR SHOP IS CHANGING
We are working in partnership with
suppliers like Puretone to provide a shop
service and preferentially priced goods to
BTA supporters and members.
David Solecki from Puretone commented
on the new venture: “Puretone and the BTA
have had a very close working relationship
for many years now and we are glad to be
able to partner with them again for the
supply of sound therapy systems via the
BTA Shop".
We’ve been offering products for tinnitus
for many years now and we’ve received
great feedback from customers who
have found them to be effective tinnitus
management tools.
However, we have conducted some
financial analysis of our shop operation
and have come to the conclusion that the
current process is not financially viable.
We need to balance the needs of people
living with tinnitus and the best use of
our resources. So we’re going to be making
some changes to ensure our shop is fit
for purpose for years to come.
There will be a number of product lines
where we direct you to an approved thirdparty
suppliers’ website. The majority
of these products will be available at a
reduced price for customers redirected
from our website shop and will also have a
10% discount for BTA members.
Many of these third-party suppliers will
be donating 10% of the purchase price
(excluding postage costs) to the BTA.
We hope you are as excited as we are about
the improvements we are making to our
shop. Ensuring our shop is sustainable
means we can make better use of our
resources and continue to help people
living with tinnitus.
If you have any queries about shop orders
please contact us on 0114 250 9933 or
visit the website at tinnitus.org.uk/shop
Text giving
You can now use our text giving
service to donate any whole amount
between £1 and £20. For example:
Text BTA 3 to 70085 to donate £3.
Texts cost £3 plus one standard rate
message and you’ll be opting in to hear
more about our work and fundraising
via telephone and SMS.
If you’d like to give £3 but do not wish
to receive marketing communications,
text BTANOINFO 3 to 70085.
QUIET 2020 Issue Three www.tinnitus.org.uk 5

2019-2020 Highlights
Our
year in
year
numbers
in numbers
1,311,667
people benefitted from accessing
our support services. A 29%
increase on last year!
103,000
people signed our petition urging
the Government to commit more
funding to tinnitus research.
224
professionals attended our events,
workshops and lectures to improve
the quality of support offered to
tinnitus patients.
An online tinnitus support group meeting
425
pairs of earplugs were given away
at two university freshers fairs.
6
We are extremely proud of our
achievements over the last year.
2019-2020 was a year of expansion
and setting up a platform for the
delivery of new projects and work
in future years.
Our new vision, mission and values
were further embedded into the
core of our work, as we continue
to pursue "a world where no one
suffers from tinnitus".

226%
more video views on our YouTube
channel during Tinnitus Week
2020, compared to Tinnitus
Week 2019.
35,747
social media followers – getting
the tinnitus community talking.
A 30% increase on last year.
1,291,933
unique visitors to our website –
providing reliable information
about tinnitus.
£12.72
for every £1 we spend - the value
of our social return on investment.
2
tinnitus debates in parliament – as
a result of the Tinnitus Roundtable
event and Manifesto.
6,141
helpline calls answered – providing
empathy and understanding to
people with tinnitus.
You can read an overview of our year
in Our Impact, which you can find at
tinnitus.org.uk/our-impact
7

Tinnitus experiences
in the Covid-19 pandemic
8 www.tinnitus.org.uk
QUIET 2020 Issue Three

Many of our members and supporters
contributed to a study looking at the
experiences of people with tinnitus
worldwide during the Covid-19 pandemic.
This study has now been published, and the
results have shown the huge impact that
either having Covid-19 or living through the
wider pandemic has had on peoople with
tinnitus. Nearly half (46%) of UK sufferers
report that their tinnitus has been made
worse due to the impact of lockdown and
lifestyle changes.
The researchers – a collaboration led
by Dr Eldré Beukes from Anglia Ruskin
University and including the British Tinnitus
Association – also found that four out of
ten people who had had Covid-19
symptoms reported that their tinnitus was
more bothersome.
These findings back up the experience of
our Tinnitus Support Team, as the people
who have contacted us are often reporting
tinnitus 'spikes' or increased distress
caused by their tinnitus.
The paper received lots of media attention,
with coverage achieved not only in
major UK outlets, but also internationally
including the Daily Mail, Daily Telegraph,
WebMD, NBC Nightly News and Fox News.
This is very helpful for raising awareness
of tinnitus, and also the long-term effects
of Covid-19.
To find out more, and watch our video
interview with Dr Beukes, check out our
website at bit.ly/EldreQ3
Rebecca's story
Rebecca Edgar, 29, from Clacton-on-Sea,
has had tinnitus since childhood but feels
that it is currently "the worst it has ever
been" as a result of the pandemic. She said:
Rebecca Edgar
“For the last 20 years I’ve had a constant
high-pitched buzzing in my ear but there is
no doubt that this is the worst my tinnitus
has ever been. I’m deaf in one ear and I’m
so scared that catching Covid-19 could
destroy what’s left of my hearing.
“I’m also worried about my family. My
husband, parents and siblings are all key
workers and some of them have health
conditions that put them at extra risk, so
that’s a constant source of worry - it’s
sent my stress levels through the roof!
“My tinnitus has got so loud that I’m now
struggling to hear my toddler when he talks
to me from the back seat of the car, and it’s
making it harder and harder for me to fall
asleep. It’s a vicious cycle, too, because the
more I worry about my tinnitus, the louder
it gets and that increases my stress further.
“People just don’t realise that tinnitus is so
much more than just an annoying sound -
it impacts on every aspect of your life and
it stops you from doing what you want to
do and being who you want to be. I am so
hopeful that we can develop a vaccine for
Covid-19 and I really hope that we can also
find a cure for tinnitus. It would completely
transform my life!”
QUIET 2020 Issue Three www.tinnitus.org.uk 9

Will you help children
like Ewan?
James shared:
“The younger boys have had lots
of teary moments, especially at
quiet times when they realise
that Ewan doesn’t have silence or
quiet.”
Ewan (L) and James (R)
Anybody can experience tinnitus.
At the start of 2020, James’s eldest son
Ewan (aged 15) sustained a concussion
injury which left him with a collection of
symptoms, including tinnitus.
Ewan now hears a constant sharp metallic
sound in his ears 24/7 and experiences
slight hearing loss.
Daunting and often distressing
Tinnitus, at any age, is a daunting and
often distressing thing to experience.
And we know that for those supporting an
individual with tinnitus, it can be difficult
to understand what that person is
going through.
Ewan's brothers Finley (L) and Gethin (R)
Impacted family life
Tinnitus has impacted their family life
in ways they didn’t realise, but they are
determined to keep moving forward. Ewan’s
parents, James and Beth, and his younger
siblings, Gethin (11) and Finley (8), continue
to support him and take the time to learn
more about what Ewan is experiencing.
10 www.tinnitus.org.uk
QUIET 2020 Issue Three

Earlier this year, the family were able to
access our online sessions and resources
to help them do this.
“With the help of the BTA’s
positivity, commitment and expert
knowledge, Ewan is working hard
to get to know these new and
disruptive elements in his life.”
Nobody should have to suffer
with tinnitus.
Our dedicated team are working tirelessly
to raise awareness and funds so that more
people can access the support they need to
manage tinnitus right now, and fund future
tinnitus research to ultimately find a cure.
You can be a part of this.
Support us this Christmas by making a oneoff
or regular donation so that people like
Ewan can live well with tinnitus.
Complete and return the form below, or
if you wish to make a regular donation by
Direct Debit, please see the insert included.
Alternatively, visit tinnitus.org.uk/donate
or call us on 0114 250 9933.
Together we can silence tinnitus.
Yes! I want to help children like Ewan
You can donate by phone, post or online
POST: I would like to give £10 £20 £50 My choice £
I don’t need a thank you letter
I enclose a cheque made payable to: British Tinnitus Association. Please send it to "FREEPOST BTA" - nothing else is
needed: trust us, it will arrive!
Alternatively, you can make a regular donation by Direct Debit. Please see the form on the back of your address slip.
Your details:
Make your gift worth more with Gift Aid
Please enter your details below, and for every £1 you donate, we will receive an extra 25p from the government at no
cost to you!
I want to Gift Aid this donation and any donations I make in the future or have made in the past 4 years to the
British Tinnitus Association
Title: Full name: Date of declaration: / /
I am a UK taxpayer and understand that if I pay less Income Tax/Capital Gains Tax than the amount of Gift Aid claimed on all my donations in that tax year,
it is my responsibilty to pay any difference. Please notify us if you want to cancel this declaration, change your name or home address or no longer pay
sufficient tax on your income and/or capital gains.
At the British Tinnitus Association, we want to make sure we are communicating with you in the right way. So you
have control over what you receive, please let us know your preferences through the following options:
Yes! I am happy for you to contact me for all areas of work relating to the British Tinnitus Association by post,
email, telephone and text/SMS
Yes! I would like to receive FOCUS, your monthly newsletter
If you prefer to hear about some areas but not others, or prefer certain methods of communication, choose the
options that suit you at tinnitus.org.uk/preferences or contact info@tinnitus.org.uk or 0114 250 9933

Get ready to get behind
Tinnitus Week 2021
Emily Broomhead, BTA Campaigns Manager, outlines our plans so far.
Tinnitus Week 2020 was a resounding
success, kickstarting a conversation with
the Government about the need to increase
funding for tinnitus research. We’ll keep you
updated with our progress on that front over
the coming weeks and months, but, in the
meantime, we’re excited to announce plans
for the next Tinnitus Week campaign.
Accessing treatment and support
from GPs
Tinnitus Week 2021 will run from 1-7
February and will tackle another important
issue for people with tinnitus - accessing
treatment and support from GPs.
At the end of March 2020, the National
Institute for Health and Care Excellence
(NICE) published new guidance for GPs on
how to support patients who come to see
them with a tinnitus issue. You can see the
guidance at bit.ly/NiceTGQ3
This was very unfortunate timing. With
the first Covid-19 lockdown implemented
a week earlier and GPs forced to address
huge challenges to deliver virtual care, it
would be understandable if many of them
missed the new tinnitus guidance. We will
be working to address this.
What do we have planned?
We have a whole host of activities planned
to help us to understand this issue better
and ensure it gets the attention it deserves.
We’ll be conducting research with people
with tinnitus to find out more about your
GP experience and whether it has changed
at all since the new NICE tinnitus guidance
was introduced at the end of March 2020.
We’ll also be engaging with GPs, patient
support groups, healthcare associations,
politicians and people with tinnitus, to
generate ideas for how to ensure the new
NICE guidance is used by more GPs.
Then we’ll be running a campaign on social
media to drive awareness of the impact
of tinnitus and how positive support can
improve people’s experience.
How can you get involved?
It’s impossible to overstate how much of a
difference your support makes to Tinnitus
Week and we really hope you’ll get behind
it again this year.
Please do complete our research survey
as we'd like to find out about your GP
experience - you can answer it online at
bit.ly/BiGBTA.
To grab the attention of the media,
politicians and other national organisations
we really need as many of you as possible
to answer our questionnaire - so please do
spend a few minutes to help us if you can.
To bring our campaign to life, we are
looking to feature your stories of how a
12 www.tinnitus.org.uk
QUIET 2020 Issue Three

GP experience - good or bad - has changed
your journey.
Perhaps you felt that your tinnitus was
dismissed by your GP and that left you
feeling isolated and hopeless, causing
your condition to worsen further. Or
perhaps, after years of struggling, you had
an appointment with a sympathetic GP who
took the time to listen to your challenges
and helped to signpost you to support or
self-management techniques.
If you have a story that fits with this theme
please email emily@tinnitus.org.uk
Finally, we’d love for you to support our
campaign on social media. We’ll be
encouraging you to take the simple but
impactful step of sharing a photo of you
with some powerful text that helps bring to
life the challenges that tinnitus brings. Look
out for posts on our social media channels.
The success of Tinnitus Week is directly
linked with how many of you support it!
Last year a staggering 115,000 of you got
behind our campaign for more funding for
tinnitus research and, as a result, we’re now
in active discussions with the Government
on this issue. We hope you’ll get behind
Tinnitus Week 2021 just as strongly.
QUIET 2020 Issue Three www.tinnitus.org.uk 13

ONLINE EVENTS
BTA Events Manager Maisie Carscadden invites you to our range of online
events where you can learn more about tinnitus management.
We are continuing to offer online events
and developing new ones so we can reach
as many people as possible.
Email events@tinnitus.org.uk if you'd
like to be told of our upcoming events, or
follow us on social media for the latest
announcements.
Online workshops
Our online workshops are led by Dr Lucy
Handscomb, who has over 25 years
experience as a tinnitus therapist.
“This has been one of the best tinnitus
events I have attended.”
The online workshops have helped
to support those unable to attend
appointments, and offer tips on selfhelp
management techniques. They are
suitable for people who have been
diagnosed with tinnitus but who have
had minimal professional support.
Online webinars
Tony Kay, President of the BTA, and
Clinical Psychologist Dominic Bray have
both delivered online webinars including
a Q&A for those who wanted a better
understanding of tinnitus, the referral
process and what they can do to help
themselves.
"I feel that my tinnitus has never been
taken seriously by anyone. It was
reassuring to hear from others and
how they cope."
New! Getting the most out of
your GP consultation
Want to make the most out of your GP
appointment but not sure how? Dr Emma
Dickson, a GP with a specialist interest in
ENT, will take you through what to do on
our recent webinar, with a Q&A bonus!
This webinar covers:
When to see your GP
Selecting your GP
What to expect when you see your GP
What happens after the assessment
If you would like to watch a recording of one
of these webinars, you can view them
at tinnitus.org.uk/free-webinars
14 www.tinnitus.org.uk
QUIET 2020 Issue Three

Socialising and sound
BTA Research Officer Dr Georgie Burns-O'Connell looks at a new paper which
examines whether tinnitus makes it harder to hear in noisy settings
We often hear people with tinnitus say
that they find it difficult to hear in noisy
environments. They frequently mention
noticing this when they are out with
friends or family socialising at restaurants
or parties.
This can lead to feelings of loneliness as
it makes it difficult to have conversations
in larger groups - not that many of us are
currently doing that due to Covid-19! - when
there is background noise, e.g. clattering of
plates and cutlery, music, other groups of
people talking, etc.
This problem has been explored in recent
research undertaken by the Department
of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and
Neck Surgery, and the Department of
Epidemiology, Erasmus University Medical
Center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
So, does tinnitus make it harder
to hear?
This research found that if someone has
only tinnitus, then their hearing will be
unaffected in noisy situations. Therefore,
the short answer is no.
However, if a person has tinnitus as well
as hearing loss, then they are more likely
to experience difficulty hearing in noisy
situations (but this was shown to be only
a small effect).
This might seem obvious, but it supports
the primary advice often given to those
who experience tinnitus: have a hearing
test.
“When one has tinnitus in addition to
hearing loss, hearing in more difficult
listening situations is worse, even
though the difference is small. However,
if one only has tinnitus, hearing in a
more difficult listening situation is
unaffected.”
Reference
Oosterloo BC, Homans NC & Goedegebure
A. (2020). Tinnitus Affects Speech in Noise
Comprehension in Individuals With Hearing
Loss. Otology & Neurotology 41 (9) doi: 10.1097/
MAO.0000000000002733
QUIET 2020 Issue Three www.tinnitus.org.uk 15

All in the genes?
BTA Communications Manager Nic Wray discusses research that could turn out
to be an important milestone in the search for a cure for tinnitus.
A new research study has found eight
genes and three loci (specific fixed
positions on a chromosome) which
can be strongly linked to tinnitus.
Tinnitus as a neurological
condition?
These results, if repeated, could overturn
the current thinking that tinnitus is a
symptom and could form the basis of
considering tinnitus as a neurological
condition.
The study also indicated that tinnitus
shared similarities with conditions such
as hearing loss, insomnia and depression
– conditions which often occur together
with tinnitus, and which also involve
multiple genes.
Genetic tagging of specific forms (subtypes)
of tinnitus could have an important
role to play in the development of better
treatments, including drugs for tinnitus.
Environmental factors
Although it seems increasingly clear that
there is a genetic element to tinnitus, other
studies have highlighted the importance
of environmental factors. This interaction
between many genes and various
environmental factors marks tinnitus as
a complex condition.
The study has already been talked of as
an important milestone, but more work
is needed to unravel the complexities of
tinnitus.
Need for a biobank
Studies such as this point towards the need
for an in-depth tinnitus-specific biobank,
which would allow us to understand
the genetic and environmental factors
associated with tinnitus, and take forward
our understanding of tinnitus and facilitate
our search for a cure.
We are driving progress in this field, as the
rewards could be ground-breaking.
Reference
Clifford RE, Maihofer AX, Stein MB, Ryan AF,
Nievergelt CM. (2020) Novel Risk Loci in Tinnitus
and Causal Inference With Neuropsychiatric
Disorders Among Adults of European Ancestry.
JAMA Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery.
doi:10.1001/jamaoto.2020.2920
16 www.tinnitus.org.uk
QUIET 2020 Issue Three

MEMBERSHIP
SURVEY
For people living with tinnitus
We’d like to find out what you think about BTA Membership
but, most importantly, what we can do to help you in the future
and provide an even better service to the tinnitus community.
Your feedback really does help to guide our work.
To be entered into a prize draw to win AfterShokz wireless bone
conduction headphones worth £99.95, enter your contact details below:
Name:
Email:
Phone:
Please complete the survey and return it to us no later than 18 January 2021 to FREEPOST BTA.
Alternatively, you can complete the survey online at surveymonkey.co.uk/r/BTA2020
A. ABOUT BTA MEMBERSHIP
Your membership includes:
The opportunity to support the work of the BTA, a community to be a part of, free copies of
Quiet magazine, discounted products for tinnitus, information leaflets and advice and a free sound CD.
1
2
What do you value most about the
BTA, and why is it important?
How would you rate your level of trust in the BTA? 1 = Extremely low / 10 = Extremely high
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
3
4
Why did you join as a BTA member?
Improve my emotional wellbeing
Improve my understanding
of tinnitus
Better understand my
treatment options
Reduce my feelings of isolation
Find out about the latest
tinnitus research
Help me access the services
I need
Has BTA membership helped you to achieve any of these?
Improve my emotional wellbeing
Improve my understanding
of tinnitus
Better understand my
treatment options
Reduce my feelings of isolation
Find out about the latest
tinnitus research
Help me access the services
I need
Improve my relationships
Support the BTA
Other (please specify):
Improve my relationships
Support the BTA
Other (please specify):

5
Which of these elements of the membership package have you accessed/used? Tick all that apply
Free copies of Quiet
magazine
Discounted products
for tinnitus
Information leaflets
and advice
Free sound CD
6
What do you value the most from the BTA membership package?
Please rank your top three elements of the package from 1 (least valued) to 3 (most valued)
The opportunity to support the
work of the BTA
Being part of a community
Free copies of Quiet magazine
Discounted products for
tinnitus
Information leaflets and
advice
Free sound CD
7
How influential were the benefits in your decision to become a member of the BTA?
1 = Not influential / 10 = Highly influential
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
8
9
What actions have you taken (if any)
since you received the benefits of being
a BTA member? e.g. read through the info leaflets
Would you have taken this action without receiving support from BTA?
Very unlikely Unlikely Somewhat
unlikely
Neither likely
nor unlikely
Somewhat
likely
Likely
Very likely
10
Have you experienced any changes as a result of receiving the benefits of being a BTA member?
e.g. felt more confident in my knowledge of tinnitus so I’m worrying less about it
No
Yes (please specify):
11
Are you doing anything differently as a result of this change?
e.g. going out to see friends more without worrying that my tinnitus will stop me from enjoying it
No
Yes (please specify):
12
Has anyone else been influenced by you being a member of the BTA?
No Yes (please specify who and how):
13
How would you rate your awareness of tinnitus before and after you became a member
of the BTA? 1 = Extremely low / 10 = Extremely high
Before:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
After:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

14
How would you rate your knowledge of tinnitus before and after you became a member
of the BTA? 1 = Extremely low / 10 = Extremely high
Before:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
After:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
15
How would you rate your ability to manage the negative effects of tinnitus,
before and after you became a member of the BTA? 1 = Extremely low / 10 = Extremely high
Before:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
After:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
If the BTA membership package was not available, what would you have done?
16
Nothing
Used general information
gained through research
on the internet
Become a member of another
organisation
Given a regular donation to
the BTA
Other (please specify):
Used information found
through the BTA website
Given a one-off donation to
the BTA
17
18
How influential have the benefits of being a BTA member been in you making
positive life choices? 1 = Not influential / 10 = Highly influential
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Have you used any other BTA services?
e.g. Freephone helpline, webinars, takeontinnitus.co.uk, our forum, etc.
No Yes (please specify):
19
Do you have any suggestions
about how we can improve
our membership package?
20
B. ABOUT QUIET MAGAZINE
Do you read all of Quiet magazine?
Yes, I read it cover to cover No, I flick through it and read the articles that are of interest
21
Which content in Quiet do you most and least value?
Most Least
Most Least
News from the BTA
Tinnitus management tips
Research updates
Support groups news
Real-life stories
Fundraising stories
Other (please specify):

22
What would your preference be for the future format of Quiet?
Leave it as it is
Only produce it digitally
Reduce the number of pages
and include shorter articles
Reduce the number of issues
to one or two per year
Stop producing Quiet
Other (please specify):
23
Do you have any
additional comments
about Quiet magazine?
24
C . ABOUT YOU
These questions are optional, but it helps us to check that we are reaching
as wide a cross-section of people as possible. All responses are anonymous.
What is your gender?
Female Male Prefer not to say Prefer to self-describe:
25
What is your sexual orientation?
Bi
Gay man
Gay woman/
lesbian
Heterosexual/
straight
Prefer not
to say
Prefer to self-describe:
26
What is your age group?
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25–34
45–54
65–74
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18–24
35–44
55–64
75+
27
What is your ethnic group?
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Bangladeshi
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Other
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Caribbean/
Black British:
African
Caribbean
Other
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ethnic groups:
Asian and White
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and White
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and White
White:
English/Welsh/
Scottish/Northern
Irish/British
Gypsy or Irish
Traveller
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Prefer not to say
Other (please specify):
Other
Other
28
In what region of the UK do you live?
Scotland
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and the Humber
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THANK YOU!

£125k grant for
tinnitus biomarker research
We're delighted to announce the first
recipient of £125,000 through our 2020/21
large research grant funding programme.
The grant is going to King’s College London
and the University of Nottingham for
their study which aims to identify tinnitus
biomarkers, using the health and genetics
data of twins.
Looking for biomarkers
The two-year research project is led by
Professor Frances Williams, Professor of
Genomic Epidemiology at King’s College
London, and Dr Christopher Cedderoth,
Associate Professor in Hearing Sciences
at the University of Nottingham. Using
data from TwinsUK and the Karolinska
Institutet’s Swedish Tinnitus Outreach
Project, they will be looking for biomarkers
– or special molecules – in the blood that
can help to objectively diagnose and/or
predict who will develop tinnitus.
Blood test for tinnitus?
Professor Williams said: “We’re really
pleased to have been awarded a grant from
the BTA, to allow us to take this significant
project forward. We hope that using the
large sample from TwinsUK will help us
to identify a blood molecule which will
provide an objective, reliable indicator of
tinnitus. This would allow the development
of a blood test for tinnitus, leading to it
being defined as a 'disorder' rather than
symptom, and providing an objective
measure of a subjective condition.”
This project is an important study and
could provide essential information that
will propel new research towards a cure.
BTA's large research grants
This is the first of two projects to be
funded from our £250,000 large research
grant funding programme in 2020/21,
which is the highest amount we've ever
awarded, and cements our position as one
of the largest tinnitus research funders
in the UK. We'll be announcing the second
successful recipient in early 2021.
Tinnitus research is dramatically
underfunded and we’re committed to
funding, supporting and lobbying for what’s
needed to silence tinnitus once and for all.
Please help us to continue to fund projects
like this. You can donate via our appeal on
pages 10-11.
QUIET 2020 Issue Three www.tinnitus.org.uk 21

Is bimodal stimulation
effective for tinnitus?
Kerry Chase, BTA Head of Communications, casts an analytical eye over a
study looking at a novel treatment for tinnitus
Results from a study into Neuromod
Devices’ Lenire®, a bimodal
neuromodulation device, have just been
published, looking at whether it delivers
a reduction in tinnitus symptoms.
Why?
The objective of the study was to
investigate bimodal neuromodulation,
combining sound and tongue stimulation,
to determine whether it is safe and effective
for treating individuals with chronic
subjective tinnitus.
The trial consisted of three study groups,
with the aim of evaluating the effects that
three different stimulation settings have
on tinnitus symptoms.
Who?
The study recruited 326 adults with chronic
subjective tinnitus who:
were aged between 18 and 70
had had tinnitus for three months to five
years
had a Tinnitus Handicap Index (THI) score
of 28 to 76 points
How?
The participants were provided with and
instructed to use a bimodal
neuromodulation device (Lenire®) – that
delivers sound to the ears and electrical
stimulation to the tongue – for 60 minutes
daily for 12 weeks.
They were clinically evaluated during the
treatment period – at week 6 and at week
12. When treatment was completed,
participants were assessed at three followup
visits up to 12 months after returning
their device.
The results
81% of participants experienced an
improvement in tinnitus symptoms after 12
weeks of treatment and 77% at 12 months
post-treatment, irrespective of the study
arm they were on (based on THI and TFI
scores). 16% of participants reported that
their tinnitus got worse. At the end of
22 www.tinnitus.org.uk
QUIET 2020 Issue Three

treatment, 66.5% of participants said that
they had benefitted from using the device.
The study also found that there wasn’t
as large of an improvement in tinnitus
symptoms during the second six weeks of
stimulation, as there was during the first six
weeks. This suggests that the brain may
become less sensitive in response to
repetitive stimuli over time.
Things to consider
This paper is the first high-quality paper
evaluating the effectiveness of a bimodal
neuromodulation device (Lenire®) to reduce
the perception of tinnitus. However, it is
sponsored by Neuromod Devices, so is not
fully independent.
Further clinical trials are required before
bimodal neuromodulation could be
established as a clinically recommended
treatment for tinnitus. The study excluded a
number of potential candidates, including
those with:
tinnitus for longer than 5 years
objective tinnitus or somatic tinnitus
caused by a head or neck injury, or if
their tinnitus was occurring alongside
a neurological condition
conductive or substantial sensorineural
hearing loss
a hearing aid used within 90 days prior
to eligibility
Ménière’s disease
Reference
Conlon B, Langguth B, Hamilton H et al. (2020)
Bimodal neuromodulation combining sound and
tongue stimulation reduces tinnitus symptoms in a
large randomized clinical study. Science
Translational Medicine 12 (564). doi: 10.1126/
scitranslmed.abb2830
Do you want to avoid
reinventing the
wheel?
Sound Practice is an online library of peer
shared resources that aims to support
provision of adult hearing rehabilitation.
Are you looking to see
what other professionals
have produced?
Register today at
www.soundpractice.org.uk/
to start viewing and sharing resources today
QUIET 2020 Issue Three www.tinnitus.org.uk 23

Going that
Ella Parris, a 16-year-old school girl from
Kent, was first diagnosed with tinnitus
when she was just six-years-old.
“Some days it's difficult to sleep due to
constant vibrations, buzzing, ringing, etc.
It occurs when I'm really stressed, when it's
too quiet or when I'm trying to concentrate
hard in exams. Tinnitus has run through my
family, massively impacting our lives. My
mum and I recently came to the conclusion
that this needs to change!”
Despite living with complex health issues,
Ella set herself the challenge of walking 50
miles to raise awareness of tinnitus, and to
raise vital funds for the BTA.
Ella created her own awareness page on
social media to get people talking about
tinnitus and other conditions. She was
interviewed by her local radio station,
Kent FM, and her local paper shared
her experience of tinnitus.
By sharing her story, Ella managed to raise
awareness of tinnitus and raise over £700
to help us to help others and push for future
research.
Ella Parris
Christina Kennedy, 41, from Daventry in
Northamptonshire has also challenged
herself to walk 50 miles in a month.
Christina got in touch with the BTA Tinnitus
Support Team back in August 2019 after
having an ear infection and experiencing
tinnitus for the first time.
She told us, “I became severely distressed,
anxious and constantly panicked. During
what I call my crisis stage, I never thought
I’d be able to live normally again. I
remember my boyfriend taking me to the
doctor's in the car and I had a complete
panic attack, we had to stop and I called
the BTA helpline, I was so desperate. That
phone call was the start of my healing
process.”
24 www.tinnitus.org.uk
QUIET 2020 Issue Three

extra mile
Christina Kennedy
“I hear a high-pitch ringing 24/7 with no
breaks, it’s the annoying sound that no one
else can hear - it can be a lonely place."
"With some help and a lot of determination
to not let tinnitus control or define my life,
I am now in a much, much better place,
however it breaks my heart when I speak
to people new to tinnitus who are deeply
suffering and receive little or no support
from their GP.”
Step forward
Can you follow in Ella and Christina’s
footsteps?
Walking is great for our physical and mental
health. Whatever distance, you can make it
count by raising awareness and funds for a
cause close to your heart.
Set yourself a goal of how far you’d
like to walk, and your start and end
dates (new year, new you?).
Ask your family and friends to
sponsor you – online or offline.
Get walking!
Our team will be with you every step of the
way to offer personalised support if and
when you need it.
Simply head to our website at bit.ly/StePQ3
to sign up or contact us to receive your BTA
t-shirt and fundraising pack.
Questions? Get in touch with our team via
fundraising@tinnitus.org.uk or call 0114
250 9933. Money raised will help to support
people with tinnitus and help fund research.
QUIET 2020 Issue Three www.tinnitus.org.uk 25

Beyond hearing aids
How a cochlear implant can help those with hearing loss and tinnitus.
What is a cochlear
implant (CI)?
3
4
A cochlear implant is an electronic device
which consists of two parts - one which is
surgically implanted (the implant) and one
which is worn externally (the sound
processor). It directly stimulates the
hearing nerve, bypassing the inner ear
structures which are not functioning due
to a hearing loss.
A
2
1
1
5
B
D
C
6
E
F
Outer ear Middle ear Inner ear
Figure 2: The ear with a CI in place.
Figure 1: The internal implant is on the left, and the
external sound processor on the right.
How does a CI work?
To understand how a CI works, it’s
important to know how normal hearing
works. Sound is transmitted as sound
waves from the environment. The sound
waves are gathered by the outer ear (A in
figure 2) and sent down the ear canal (B)
to the eardrum (C).
The sound waves cause the eardrum to
vibrate, which sets the three tiny bones (the
ossicles) (D) in the middle ear into motion.
The motion of the bones causes the fluid
in the inner ear (or cochlea (E)) to move.
The movement of the inner ear fluid causes
the hair cells in the cochlea to bend. The
hair cells change the movement into
electrical impulses which are transmitted
to the hearing nerve (F) and up to the brain,
where they are interpreted as sound.
Conventional hearing aids work by making
sounds louder, but a cochlear implant is
different. With a CI, sound is picked up by
the microphone (1 in Figure 2) worn on or
near the ear on the external processor (2).
The sounds are then processed, changed
into electrical signals and passed to a
transmitter coil worn on the head and
kept in place via a magnet (3).
The signals are sent by radio waves,
through the skin to the implanted receiver
(4) and down the wire (5) to the electrode
in the cochlea (6). When the electrode
receives the signal, it makes tiny currents
that travel along the hearing nerve to
provide a sensation of hearing.
26 www.tinnitus.org.uk
QUIET 2020 Issue Three

Who is a CI for?
Children and adults with severe to profound
hearing loss and who receive little or no
benefit from conventional hearing aids may
be suitable for a cochlear implant.
Anyone who has a severe to profound
hearing loss and reports the following
difficulties, even when wearing hearing
aids …
Difficulty following conversations without
lip reading
Difficulty hearing in background noise or
groups
Difficulty following telephone
conversations
Feeling isolated or limited socially or at
work
... may benefit from a cochlear implant.
How can CIs help?
Compared to using a hearing aid only, or not
using any device, adults using CIs show
improvement in terms of:
Understanding speech in quiet and
background noise
Educational and employment
opportunities
Quality of life
Those with Advanced Bionics CIs tell us
that with their implant they have improved:
Communication
Relationships with family and friends
Music appreciation
Wellbeing
Feeling of safety
Work life
CIs and Tinnitus
Many people with hearing loss also suffer
with tinnitus. There have been reports of
rare cases where tinnitus is worse after a
CI, and sometimes it remains unchanged.
But research has shown that in most cases
CIs can reduce or totally eliminate tinnitus,
with a greater improvement seen when the
severity of the tinnitus is greatest.
How to find out more
Despite the potential benefits of this lifechanging
technology, it’s estimated that
use of CIs in adults who are eligible is as
low as 5%. If you believe you may benefit
from a cochlear implant, please speak to
your Audiologist or GP who can refer you to
your nearest CI centre for an assessment.
About the author
Shahad Howe is a Consumer
Engagement Specialist at Advanced
Bionics, raising awareness about
cochlear implants and supporting
people who are thinking about
cochlear implants as a treatment for
their hearing loss.
www.advancedbionics.com
QUIET 2020 Issue Three www.tinnitus.org.uk 27

How I manage my
BUZZING EARS
When Carolin-Marie Roth first noticed tinnitus, she used her experience as a
yoga teacher to explore techniques to help her to manage the condition.
first peak of the Covid–19 pandemic, and,
understandably, tinnitus was not top of the
priority list for my GP.
I started to do some research myself and
decided to experiment with a few exercises.
Eventually, after a couple of months, my
perception of the noise inside my ear
started to change and the whooshing and
buzzing slowly faded and finally stopped.
Carolin-Marie Roth
“I have often lamented that we cannot
shut our ears with as much ease as we
can our eyes.” Sir Richard Steele
One evening I went to bed as normal, only
to wake up in the middle of the night with a
buzzing noise in my right ear. First, I tried to
ignore it but that didn’t work; the noise was
annoyingly persistent. The weird buzzing
inside my head was driving me up the wall
so the next morning I called my GP. He told
me to relax, as with a bit of luck, it would go
away by itself.
Well, that didn’t happen and I became more
agitated. I really didn’t know what to do
and was scared that the noise would stay
with me forever. All this was happening
during the summer of 2020, during the
I cannot guarantee you that these exercises
will help you as well as they helped me but
they are easy to do, so why not try them?
Ear pressing and tapping
Tapping is a technique that has helped me
during times of stress and anxiety. Tapping
is said to restore and unblock the flow of
energy within your body and it is yogic belief
that when the energy, the prana, flows
freely, the body and the mind will be able
to heal themselves.
Tapping special points around your ears and
neck can mask the symptoms of tinnitus.
Tapping these acupressure points with your
fingertips may reduce the stimulation of
the limbic system in your brain that deals
with emotion, memories and behaviour. The
limbic system can act as a gatekeeper to
keep the tinnitus signal from reaching the
auditory cortex.
28 www.tinnitus.org.uk
QUIET 2020 Issue Three

Now, move your fingers down your face
onto your chin and continue tapping your
chin for one minute before you repeat the
ritual again, starting behind your ears.
Practise two sets of the pressing and
tapping three times per day.
The Humming Bee Breath
Why not try producing a sound in order to
reduce the sound in your ear? This is what
the Humming Bee Breath does.
The tragus is the small flap of cartilage at the ear
opening
Exercise
Sit comfortably on a chair with your spine
straight. Press your right thumb against
your tragus, the small piece of cartilage on
the inner corner of your right ear. Push your
thumb against it, approximately 50 times in
a quick succession.
Then stop and keep pressing the thumb
firmly against the tragus. Hold it in this
position, slowly counting to 12. Then release
and repeat everything with your left thumb
on your left ear.
Finally, repeat the whole process against
both your ears.
Now rub your hands, creating both energy
and heat. Tuck in your chin and use your
fingertips, not your fingernails, to tap firmly
against your skull behind your ears, relaxing
your jaw muscles and lips while tapping
forcefully for at least two minutes.
Then slowly move your fingertips to the
crown of your head, tapping the top of your
head for one minute.
If right now you are thinking something
along the lines of, “Why is this woman
recommending that I should produce more
noise, when all I want to do is get rid of
the noise in my ears?” then contemplate
the following: the sound you hear in your
ear is an internal noise. Have you ever
just observed it without discrimination,
emotional judgement or thought? It is
because we can become so disturbed
by the voice inside us that we can
become too caught up in this.
Take a moment and try to neutrally observe
the noise, not identifying with it, simply just
noting it. Then bring your awareness to your
audible breath. The breath is always there;
the noise is only there when it is observed.
The more space you make between yourself
and the noise, the less attached to the
noise you will be, and the more you will
be able to focus your awareness on other
sensations.
Exercise
Prepare to imitate the buzzing sound of
a bumble bee. The sound is very soothing
and relieves tension and anxiety and can
help you to perceive the tinnitus symptoms
differently.
Start by sitting comfortably, keeping the
QUIET 2020 Issue Three www.tinnitus.org.uk 29

moments breathing normally, sit quietly
and notice whether there are any changes
in your ears.
Remember that you might not be able to
cure your tinnitus once and for all, but what
you can change is how you perceive the
sound.
About the author
spine as straight as possible. Do not do
this exercise lying down. Your lips remain
gently closed with your teeth slightly apart
throughout the practice. Make sure that
your jaw is relaxed.
If it feels comfortable, close your eyes. Then
use the middle or index finger to plug your
ears. Push your finger against the tragus,
the small piece of cartilage at the inner
corner of your ear. Keep your ears and lips
closed, and produce a humming sound as
you breathe out. Produce the sound of the
letter ‘m’ and sustain the sound until you
need to inhale.
Then repeat: inhale through the nose, and
hum like a buzzing bee as you exhale:
mmmmmmm … Do not clench your teeth
and do not press your tongue against your
teeth as you are humming. Make the outbreath
longer than the in-breath to prolong
your experience.
Listen to the sound and notice the tingling
in your lips, face, and skull. The longer
you sustain the humming exhalation, the
more relaxing the breath is likely to be - but
forcing the breath beyond your capacity
can have the reverse effect.
Finally, release your hands and spend a few
Carolin-Marie Roth is a British Wheel of
Yoga teacher who has been practising
yoga for over 40 years. The exercises
in this article have been adapted from
her forthcoming book.
www.enjoyoga.co.uk
Do you have a
story to tell?
If you are living with tinnitus and would
like to support our awareness-raising
activity by sharing your story, we'd love
to hear from you.
Whether you're new to tinnitus or have
had it for many years; whether you're
managing it well or finding it all a bit of
a struggle, your story could help us to
reach more people, and potentially
make a difference to their lives.
Don't worry, we'd never ask you to share
or do more than you're comfortable with,
and no details or photos are ever used
without your consent.
If you would like to tell us your tinnitus
story, please get in touch with Nic
Wray on nic@tinnitus.org.uk or 0114
250 9933 or write to her at Nic Wray,
FREEPOST BTA (no stamp needed).
30 www.tinnitus.org.uk
QUIET 2020 Issue Three

Learning together online
Like many other organisations this year,
we moved online to deliver our Annual
Conference. Aimed at audiologists,
ENTs, GPs, hearing care professionals,
psychologists, tinnitus support groups
and researchers, more than 300
people from 28 countries enjoyed a full
programme of over 20 online lectures,
workshops, seminars and networking
opportunities across five days.
It was a BTA conference like no other, but
our speakers, facilitators and attendees
were all very enthusiastic about the new
format. Going online also offered us the
opportunity to invite international speakers,
and these came from New Zealand and
across the USA and Europe.
The virtual event also attracted attendees
from across the globe, with people logging
in from far and wide, including Australia,
Canada, Denmark, Brazil, Israel, Peru and
South Africa. The more accessible format
has allowed us to reach more people
than ever before, with a record number of
attendees registered.
Each day was themed – including the
psychology of tinnitus, practical skills and
the latest in tinnitus research – with topics
ranging from sleep to brain imaging, and
internet-based CBT to the effects
of Covid-19.
The most popular session of the week
was Dr Laurence McKenna’s report on his
research into managing tinnitus-related
insomnia – with over 100 people logging
in live, and 300 views ‘on-demand’ during
the week. Other highlights included the key
note presentation from Professor David
Baguley on ‘Biobanks – what can they tell
us about tinnitus?’ and a panel discussion
on ‘Tinnitus and Covid-19’. The pandemic
of course has influenced lived experience,
research and clinical practice in the tinnitus
community, and all of these were covered
in the sessions.
What was particularly encouraging was
the engagement of our attendees with the
live Q&A sessions after the presentations.
The online format gave the chance for
more questions – no delay in waiting for
the roving mic – and people really took
advantage of the opportunity to interact.
The sessions will be available online until 5
October 2021 for attendees. For those who
have missed out, post-event access for all
the sessions can be purchased from
www.btaconference2020.co.uk
QUIET 2020 Issue Three www.tinnitus.org.uk 31

It can get
better
Luize Lazdane tells us how she learned
to live with her tinnitus.
I’ve been suffering with tinnitus since
December 2018 – it has been a tough road,
but I know that it can get better. For me
there’s no question that the tinnitus was
caused by a short but severe episode of
depression.
There was a lot of change happening in my
life at the time and my body (and brain)
couldn’t cope and keep up. I will never
forget the first time I noticed it was there
and wasn’t going away. It was Christmas
and everyone was cheery, you could feel
the festivities in the air. In contrast, there
I was – constantly checking whether the
noise was there, what did it sound like,
whilst getting panic attack after panic
attack because of it.
I was convinced that I was going to lose my
hearing, which didn’t help the depression,
either. With this conviction, I booked
myself to an ENT for them to check my
hearing – this was another highly stressful
appointment. I recall at first telling the
doctor that I had been hearing sounds for
about seven consecutive days, the sounds
were high-pitched, long beeps, similar to
when you pick up the handset of a landline.
After checking my hearing, everything
turned out fine but the fact that there was
no cure unsettled me greatly. What do you
mean this is something I have to live with
for the rest of my life? I will never ‘hear’
silence again? The idea of persistent noise
drove me into even greater anxiety and the
Luize Lazdane
thought that I was inevitably going to go
crazy was bringing more anxiety. I could tell
I became withdrawn from my friends and
family.
I was lucky that I was put on medication
and did CBT that helped my depression
ease. With time, the sounds started calming
down, but they still haven’t disappeared.
However, I have learnt to live with them.
They come back when I’m doing something
that relaxes me, mainly when reading a
book. But all I do is think to myself, "Ah
here is my tinnitus again – hello!" and let
the thought go.
I am confident that everyone can find
their own coping mechanisms that will
help them. I really never thought the
day would come where I see it as part of
myself, rather than a debilitating illness. I
wish I had known about the symptoms of
excessive stress – tinnitus being one of
them. The little knowledge I had about it
certainly didn’t help trying to work out how
to live with it. As corny as it sounds, I do
want people to know that there is a light at
the end of the tunnel.
32 www.tinnitus.org.uk
QUIET 2020 Issue Three

The music of my mind
Student Henry Bolden shares his story
Tinnitus is unseen yet certainly not
unheard. It does not discriminate. This
is what makes it so fascinating, so
challenging, and so difficult to understand,
for both us sufferers and for people who
cannot come close to experiencing its
effects.
I was previously completely unaware of
the effects and wider world of tinnitus,
until a year ago, when I was suddenly
accompanied by a high-pitched
whistling. This sound was
at first a mild irritation,
but its presence and
prominence grew
over time, and my
increasing awareness
and anxiety alongside
this led me to explore
the world of tinnitus and in
turn discover the BTA.
I had no idea about the number of young
people who were similarly privately
affected by tinnitus, and was amazed
at the amount of content available in an
attempt to grasp tinnitus' varying effects.
However, this content never provided
a personal and intimate experience for
people to understand and feel tinnitus, be
it my friends, family or myself. What was
needed was more than an explanation.
Studying drama at university, I had
previously been introduced to the world
of audio features (radio plays, audio
documentaries and experimental audio
pieces of theatre), and their deeply
intimate manner of projecting a story and
experience right into your ears. After being
set the task to create a feature of our own,
and doing some research with my fellow
creators, Jake and Patience, I found it
ironic that there was very little to do with
tinnitus in an audio-only medium.
We decided to create a 15-minute feature
which allowed the general public a chance
to feel tinnitus, directly in their heads.
Using Facebook (not our initial plan thanks
to the Covid-19 pandemic), we found six
people of different ages and backgrounds
who were willing to tell us about their own
unique experiences with tinnitus, along
with sharing their individual sounds,
which we in turn attempted
to replicate.
Throughout the
interview and
creative process
we discovered that
despite each sound
being different, and
each interviewee's
tinnitus forming
at varying ages with
varying degrees of
severity, there was a shared
experience in the coping mechanisms
used and the way we adapted to life
with this unwanted sound. Hearing and
understanding another’s sound, trials and
tribulations was a touching experience,
but most touching was the fact that
despite being sufferers, adapting to this
new way of life has been an experience
of self-improvement, particularly in terms
of confidence in others and coming to
terms with personal anxieties surrounding
our hearing.
You can hear the documentary on the BTA
website at tinnitus.org.uk/henrys-story
QUIET 2020 Issue Two www.tinnitus.org.uk 33

Four-fold increase
in people accessing support
Colette Bunker, the BTA’s Acting Head of Services, updates us on the BTA's
Tinnitus Support Team project.
We are delighted to be celebrating helping
15,829 people in the past two years through
our dedicated Tinnitus Support Team
project.
The BTA has been running for over
40 years and has offered a freephone
helpline support service for most of those,
but a new project aimed at increasing
information, advice and guidance to people
with tinnitus launched in September 2018,
enabling us to take 448% more enquiries
than in the previous two-year period.
It can be very hard
Claire (pictured), who has been receiving
support from us since 2019, said: “I’ve had
tinnitus for a year and it can be very hard.
When I was in contact with the BTA in the
early stages, they were a real source of
support, they always checked to see how I
was, and my messages were always replied
to quickly.
A real comfort
"People who don't suffer with tinnitus don't
care, they think it's nothing and made up,
but it really is the worst thing that has ever
happened to me. Knowing the BTA is there
to provide support is a real comfort, and I
know if I need them, I can get in touch and
they will help me.”
Claire Eveleigh
Reach a wider audience
Through specific project funding, we’ve
been able to expand our Tinnitus Support
Team: recruiting new staff and volunteers,
and launching a popular new web chat
facility and subsequent text/SMS service in
order to reach a wider audience and those
with hearing impairments.
34 www.tinnitus.org.uk
QUIET 2020 Issue Three

Feel less alone
Tinnitus can have a really negative impact
on people’s lives, and talking to someone
when you are feeling distressed can make
you feel less alone. We are really pleased
that with our larger team and new support
methods we have been able to be there for
so many more people who need our help.
Dedicated, professional
and confidential
The coronavirus pandemic has meant
that as an organisation we’ve had to
completely change how we work. But
our amazing team have continued, from
home workspaces, to support people with
tinnitus. This continuation in the dedicated,
professional and confidential support which
we pride ourselves on has been vital to
those who are new to tinnitus or those who
are struggling during these unprecedented
times.
If you need to talk to someone about
tinnitus, or know someone who would
benefit from our help and support, our
contact details are below.
Thank you to our
funders
The Tinnitus Support Team project has been
wholly funded by grants and donations, and
we would like to say a big thank you to all
those who have supported us so far.
We can help!
Our Tinnitus Support Team are
available as usual, Monday to
Friday, 9am to 5pm
0800 018 0527
Text: 07537 416841
helpline@tinnitus.org.uk
www.tinnitus.org.uk
QUIET 2020 Issue Three www.tinnitus.org.uk 35

SUPPORT GROUPS
Scotland
Edinburgh and SE Scotland
Glasgow GOLD
Northern Ireland
Armagh and Dungannon
Belfast
Craigavon
Derry/Londonderry
Enniskillen
Newry and Mourne
Omagh
North-West England
& Isle of Man
Aintree GOLD
Blackpool
Bolton GOLD
Garstang
Isle of Man
Kendal
Manchester
Prestwich
St Helens
Stockport
Whitehaven
Widnes
Wales
Barry
Brecon
Cardigan
Newport
North Wales (on hold)
Pontyclun
Pontypridd
Rhondda
Swansea
Ystradgynlais
South-West England
Bournemouth and District
Bristol
Gloucester
Kingsbridge and District
Mid-Somerset
Taunton
Torbay
Truro
South-East England
Aldershot and District
Amersham
Ashford, Kent
Aylesbury
Brighton
Canterbury
Crowborough
Dover
Faversham
Harpenden, Luton, St Albans
Haywards Heath
Hitchin and Stevenage
Isle of Wight
Lyndhurst/New Forest
Maidstone
Marlow/Farnham Cmn GOLD
Milton Keynes
Oxford
Pembury (West Kent)
Rochester
Salisbury
Southampton
Thanet
Watford
Worthing
West Midlands
Birmingham & District GOLD
Newcastle under Lyme
Shrewsbury GOLD
Stoke on Trent
Sutton Coldfield (on hold)
Telford GOLD
Warwick GOLD
Whitchurch
As we go to press, some groups may
be planning to hold physical
meetings. Find out when and where
these groups are meeting by
checking the Support Groups
Directory online at bit.ly/TSGTT or
contact us on 0800 018 0527 or
helpline@tinnitus.org.uk. We will
ensure these groups have the tools
to do so safely.
North-East England
Chester-le-Street
Darlington
Durham
Newcastle
North Tyneside
Yorkshire & Humber
Bradford
Keighley GOLD
Rotherham
Rotherham Central
Sheffield GOLD
York
East Midlands
Chesterfield GOLD
Derby
Leicester
Lincoln
Northampton
Nottingham
East of England
Bury St Edmunds
Cambridgeshire
Chelmsford
Colchester
Ipswich
King's Lynn GOLD
Lowestoft
Norwich/Norfolk
Southend-on-Sea
London (within M25)
Bexley
Boreham Wood
Bromley
Chiswick
Greenwich GOLD
Hornchurch
Isleworth (West Middlesex)
Kingston
North London
Orpington
Redbridge