ATA Awards $120,000 Inaugural "Kent Taylor Texas Roadhouse Tinnitus Research Grant"
Dr. Julia Campbell, assistant professor at the UT Austin Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, will apply the $120,000 grant to the investigation of auditory gating and its role in the perception of tinnitus
LEESBURG, Va., Sept. 26, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The American Tinnitus Association is pleased to announce that it has awarded its first "Kent Taylor Texas Roadhouse Tinnitus Research Grant" to Julia Campbell, Au.D., Ph.D., assistant professor for the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of Texas at Austin.
Dr. Campbell and her team will apply the $120,000 grant to investigate auditory gating and its role in the perception of tinnitus. "Gating is a type of automatic filter, suppressing repetitive or unimportant information from reaching conscious perception," Dr. Campbell said. "This function has been tied to tinnitus severity in adults with normal hearing, but it is unclear how gating may operate in the presence of both hearing loss and tinnitus, which typically occur together." If decreased gating is highly related to tinnitus even in the presence of hearing loss, it may provide a clinical measure of tinnitus, as well as a potential site for targeted intervention, she added.
The two-year investigation could directly inform evidence-based practice for tinnitus assessment and intervention, so that a clinical measure and targeted treatment could become standard care.
The "Kent Taylor Texas Roadhouse Tinnitus Research Grant" was made possible by participating Texas Roadhouse restaurants, which partnered with the ATA during Tinnitus Awareness Week in 2022 to honor their founder Kent Taylor, who struggled with tinnitus the last year of his life. Funds raised by Texas Roadhouse, which has more than 600 locations in the U.S., were equally allocated between research and tinnitus awareness, including support of the ATA's Tinnitus Advisors Program, which offers 15-minute free consultations to people struggling with tinnitus.
"As a nonprofit exclusively dedicated to supporting people with tinnitus and funding research for cures and better treatments, we are tremendously grateful to Texas Roadhouse, their employees, and their many patrons who believe tinnitus deserves more attention and far more research. We look forward to seeing how Dr. Campbell's research unfolds, and working with Texas Roadhouse to advance positive change," said David Hadley, chair of the ATA Board of Directors.
About the ATA
The core purpose of the American Tinnitus Association is to promote relief, prevent, and find cures for tinnitus, evidenced by its core values of compassion, credibility, and responsibility.
The leading cause of tinnitus is exposure to loud sound that damages an individual's auditory system; the second leading cause is head or neck trauma. Tinnitus also is the leading service-connected disability for U.S. veterans. The ATA is almost exclusively funded by individual donors to fulfill its mission. Please donate and/or consider becoming a member so the ATA can continue to improve the quality of life for those living with tinnitus and to educate the public on its prevention.
If your tinnitus is causing you distress, getting help is crucial. Call 1-800-634-8978, ext. 3, if you need general guidance on tinnitus management and care in your local area.
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