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Tinnitus Talk spoke with David Stockdale, the chief executive of the British Tinnitus Association (BTA). We’re very excited to have David on for episode 2 of our podcast series!

David frequently visits TinnitusTalk.com and engages with the tinnitus community through us and other channels. His dedication and drive to represent the needs of the community clearly shines through in this interview.

David talks about his drive to accomplish the BTA’s vision: “A world where no one suffers from tinnitus.” We also addressed questions like: How can tinnitus associations move the research field forward? How do they convey the tinnitus experience to the broader public? What are the pros and cons of promoting certain treatments?

Skip to: 00:00 General introduction to David Stockdale and the BTA.

Skip to: 05:10 David’s motivation.

I’d love to pack up the BTA one day and say: We’ve done it, we’ve found cures and we don’t need the BTA anymore. That’s what drives me.

Skip to: 06:56 How people with tinnitus contribute to tinnitus causes?

Skip to: 10:31 BTA’s mission and objectives.

Skip to: 15:58 Tinnitus funding, health economics, and how to move research forward.

We don’t have those [objective] measures in place that would enable the research to really jump forward.

Skip to: 22:00 BTA’s financials.

Skip to: 26:50 Challenges raising funds for tinnitus (research) causes.

Skip to: 33:33 Conveying the tinnitus experience and distinguishing levels of severity.

Tinnitus is easy to dismiss, because many people have experienced it short-term and then they associate that as being the same as what others are experiencing, which it’s not at all.

Skip to: 35:32 Prevalence and the socioeconomic cost of tinnitus.

The fact is that tinnitus costs the UK over 2 billion pounds a year; it’s huge.

Skip to: 37:25 Educating doctors to be more helpful and compassionate.

Skip to: 41:08 Representing severe tinnitus sufferers.

Skip to: 43:57 Promoting or not promoting upcoming potential treatments.

Skip to: 52:43 Promoting or not promoting currently available treatments.

We don’t promote TRT. […] My personal opinion on TRT is: the world has moved on a little bit.

Skip to: 58:30 Plans for the future.