TRI Newsletter - 10 2009

- http://www.tinnitusresearch.org/en/news/pdfs/TRI%20Newsletter%201009.pdf

Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better.
Samuel Beckett

All of us, who see tinnitus patients day after day, have to deal with the difficulty that, with the currently available treatment possibilities, many tinnitus patients do not experience sufficient relief. When we ask patients what they expect from their clinician, they answer that they expect somebody who gives them hope. The question is: “Is it realistic to give our patients hope for better treatment possibilities in the near future?” and if so “On what is this hope based?”
First of all, our understanding of the pathophysiology of tinnitus seems to grow day by day, as evidenced by the number and quality of new studies in the last months, which are reported in the current issue of the Newsletter. Moreover, the increasing availability of new diagnostic and treatment methods, e.g. in molecular biology, neuroimaging and brain stimulation, give hope that more and more patients can be helped in the future. Not only has our understanding, diagnosis and treatment options improved, but also the attitude towards tinnitus is changing. Thus, at present tinnitus is increasingly perceived as a potentially understandable and “solvable” problem. It is our firm ‘belief’ that ultimately a cure for tinnitus will be found. It is a matter of being ‘stubborn’ enough, of being persistent, driven and highly motivated even in the face of disappointments. If we keep on realizing that we can learn from our failures, we are already one step closer to a cure. Only if we keep trying, we will succeed one day.

In this Newsletter an article in honour of Joseph Toynbee is cited. Born in 1815 in London, his research in aural anatomy and physiology aimed at rescuing aural surgery from the quacks that infested the field, which was almost unanimously avoided by legitimate practitioners of surgery. But Toynbee was not only a visionary researcher and clinician (despite a very large practice, he managed to dissect more than 2000 ears). He also devoted himself to medical philanthropy and was especially concerned with public health and welfare. Tragically enough, his attempts to help his tinnitus patients brought him an untimely death. He had conceived the idea of introducing a mixture of chloroform and prussic acid into the tympanic cavity by means of the Valsalva manoeuvre. When he made the first trial with himself as subject, he was found dead on the couch of his consulting room.

The situation of ear surgery in the 19th century resembles to some extent the situation of tinnitus therapy today, and it needs researchers and clinicians with the spirit of a John Toynbee to make a change. If Toynbee failed to find a tinnitus treatment for his patients, we should try to fail better and better calculate the risks, but not stop seeking for new means to cure tinnitus.In 2010 TRI will continue to support this endeavour by providing a platform for all those sharing a common goal: finding a cure for tinnitus.

We wish you all joyful holidays, and on behalf of many tinnitus patients who suffer from this debilitating condition, we thank you for your ongoing enthusiasm.
We invite you to join us in June 2010 in Dallas, to share your latest results and to get some inspiration for your work, be it in clinic or in research.

In order to download the current issue of the Newsletter, please use the following link

http://www.tinnitusresearch.org/en/news/pdfs/TRI%20Newsletter%201009.pdf
Fuente: Dirk de Ridder, Ana Belén Elgoyhen, Berthold Langguth and the whole TRI-Office Team