I suffer from tinnitus - a life changing condition where I hear sounds even though there is nothing outside my body making the sound. It’s difficult and at times scary and depressing. Even though one in eight people in the UK has tinnitus, research for a cure is desperately underfunded. I’m fighting to change this.

I first heard my tinnitus in last July - it was a low droning noise which I could also feel. Then a high pitched hiss was added with changing tones and some random blasts of loud short tones. I went to my GP several times and was eventually diagnosed with tinnitus.

In September, I started having suicidal thoughts. I was very scared and thought my two young children would be better off without me. I couldn't focus on them; I was preoccupied with listening to these horrible sounds. I went back to the GP and was prescribed antidepressants. I was anxious about taking them for fear of making my tinnitus worse.

Now I’ve found a support group through the British Tinnitus Association, and realised that I am not alone and that people have struggled and come out on the other side and are enjoying life as much as they can with restrictions. I do yoga and mindful meditation to help overcome the anxiety even though I do have my bad days still.

Studies have found that people with tinnitus score significantly higher on the depression and anxiety scale and lower on self-esteem and wellbeing. This places huge strain on the health service, with tinnitus treatment costing the NHS £750m per year and the cost to wider society estimated at £2.6 billion per year.

Despite this, tinnitus currently receives 40 times less funding than comparable conditions like depression, anxiety and hearing loss, and there are still huge gaps in scientific knowledge and little prospect of a breakthrough. People with tinnitus urgently need the Government to commit to investing more in tinnitus research.

Please sign my petition for proper funding into tinnitus to help find a cure for sufferers like me across the UK.

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The British Tinnitus Association is an independent charity and the primary source of information for people with tinnitus. It helps to facilitate an improved quality of life for people with tinnitus through a range of support options including support groups, a helpline and its website, while also taking steps to bring forward the day when tinnitus is cured.

In January 2020, a Tinnitus Roundtable event was hosted by the British Tinnitus Association at the House of Commons, sponsored by Sir John Hayes MP, who has tinnitus himself. The event brought together leading academics, politicians, research funders, patient support groups, clinicians and people with tinnitus. The group helped to map out a way forward for tinnitus research, leading to three clear calls for Government. Read these calls in the Tinnitus Manifesto