Listen to America's Leading Experts Update the Biggest Issue You Don't Hear About with U.S. Veterans and Service Members

    PHOENIX, AZ, November 07, 2016 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The unique, online event is titled, "A Salute to Veterans and Service Members." Timed with Veteran's Day, the one-hour program offers life-changing information regarding many brave men and women whose service to our country created their hidden disability.

Tinnitus is the most common service-connected disability among Veterans. While levels of severity vary, it is an audiological and neurological condition often resulting from noise encountered during service, such as gunfire, explosives, machinery, aircraft, and more. 60 percent of Veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan come home with tinnitus and hearing loss due to noise exposure during service.

"We're calling it A Salute to Veterans and Service Members, but really it's so much more," said Melanie West, Board Chair of the American Tinnitus Association, and acting Executive Director. "We're teaming with the Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense in highlighting their programs. It fits the mission of ATA's webinar series to provide help and hope through sharing valuable information including the latest research, a multitude of solutions for treatment and management of tinnitus, hyperacusis (sensitivity to certain sounds), and hearing loss."
A pair of America's leading tinnitus experts will share the webinar online stage as presenters:

• LaGuinn Sherlock, Au.D., is a research audiologist with the Army Public Health Center, stationed at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC). With over 25 years of experience, she is also an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences at the University of Maryland. Dr. Sherlock also serves on the American Tinnitus Association Board of Directors.

• Based at the Veterans Affairs National Center for Rehabilitative Auditory Research in Portland, Oregon, James Henry, Ph.D. has been a pioneer in tinnitus research for 22 years. He also has tinnitus himself. Dr. Henry is the 2016 Paul B. Magnuson Award winner, the highest honor any medical investigator can achieve from the VA's Rehabilitation Research and Development Service.

As a sign of gratitude and respect, ATA waived the standard $25 fee for Veterans, and Service Members who want to attend its popular webinar series. "Despite being a non-profit organization ourselves, we chose to put finances aside for those who protect our freedom," said Scott Mitchell, American Tinnitus Association Co-Chair. "This is a special opportunity to bring together our ATA members, our Veterans and Service Members with two of the nation's leading researchers and healthcare professionals regarding tinnitus."

People interested in registering for ATA's Salute to Veterans and Service Members, should go to http://ata.org. Space is limited.

About the American Tinnitus Association

Since 1971, the American Tinnitus Association has been a global leader and the nation's foremost and trusted organization committed to finding a multitude of cures for tinnitus and hyperacusis. ATA is the only patient-based membership association which directly funds tinnitus research. Since 1980, it has allocated over $6 million to advance tinnitus research.

As a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit association, ATA is driven to support the 45 million Americans struggling with tinnitus. It is governed by a Board of Directors, and advised by a Scientific Advisory Committee, each composed of leading patient advocates and stakeholders in the tinnitus and hearing health fields.

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