Public Walk to Fund Tinnitus Research

The American Tinnitus Association is hosting a public walk Saturday at DC Ranch to raise awareness and research funding for tinnitus

The Arizona Walk to Silence Tinnitus will include a 5K walk and a 10K run at 7:30 and 7:25 a.m., respectively. Among the participants are former top-ranked women’s tennis pro Jennifer Capriati and her mother, Denise, who has been suffering from chronic tinnitus since she woke from hip-replacement surgery six years ago.

“The first year I had tinnitus, I was frustrated with not knowing how I would ever survive with this condition,” Denise said. “It is so loud and so severe that it prevents me from focusing on conversations, reading and falling asleep.”

Tinnitus, often called “ringing in the ears,” is an auditory condition that afflicts about 50 million Americans, according to the tinnitus association.

Practically everyone has experienced a ringing sound in his or her ears at one point, but 16 million Americans endure the noise all the time, according to Cathy Kurth, a Scottsdale-based audiologist. She said most tinnitus cases stem from loud-noise exposure and hearing loss, although several other known causes exist. Sound-therapy treatments are successful about 68 percent of the time.

“Everybody will describe their tinnitus differently to you, from sounding like locusts, bells, steam machines, crickets, to music playing in their head,” Kurth said.

The Arizona Walk to Silence Tinnitus is the tinnitus association’s inaugural fundraiser walk outside of Portland. Registration will take place on Market Street at DC Ranch, at Thompson Peak Parkway and Pima Road in Scottsdale.

Those who wish to donate without participating in the run or walk may still create a virtual fundraising team online. All proceeds will be donated to the tinnitus association research fund.

Link: American Tinnitus Association Walk

Source: AZCentral