Tinnitus Quest is determined to

Fundamentally change the approach to tinnitus research.

Be it the victory over polio, smallpox, or recent advances in the fight against malaria, HIV and COVID, they all required an aggressive, comprehensive, well-funded effort with a clear focus and will to win. This is what we are setting in motion.

Our approach to research will be one of “high risk, high gain.” Like explorers, we will take risks, explore unknown territory, and follow clues in the landscape; whereas traditional agencies come afterwards with a more systematic approach once the territory is described. In science we call this ‘explorative’ versus ‘solidifying’ science.

Tinnitus Quest has not yet started funding any research. The researchers affiliated with Tinnitus Quest are not receiving funding from us but rather will help us decide how/where to allocate our funding, once we are ready to start disbursing funds. We hope that our funding will encourage young investigators to enter the field of tinnitus.

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We have succeeded in engaging some of the world’s most brilliant tinnitus researchers. They’re going down every thinkable path of inquiry for us – practicing freer, less institutionally restrained research, motivated by concrete goals and incentives.

We have identified three major areas of research that are needed to silence tinnitus:

[ Objective One ]

Fundamental research

Researching the pathophysiology of tinnitus, through both human and animal models, would enhance our understanding of the underlying mechanisms of tinnitus. This helps figure out where and how to intervene to silence tinnitus.

[ Objective Two ]

Objective measures

Finding an objective measure (i.e. neurophysiological marker) for tinnitus is needed for diagnosing tinnitus and its severity and measuring the success of treatments. It would also entice commercial players to invest in tinnitus treatments.

[ Objective Three ]

Experimental approaches

Testing out experimental treatment approaches based on hypotheses of the underlying mechanisms of tinnitus to find out what therapies – or combinations thereof – work for whom, and how to personalize them for optimal effect.

Our Focus

We have decided to focus on the third category of research, because this is where we feel we can have most impact in terms of achieving meaningful improvement in treatment options within the next 5-10 years. Furthermore, these kinds of studies require smaller grants, allowing us to ‘bet’ on a number of different potential solutions to increase our chance of success. We will coordinate with other research funders to ensure that fundamental research and objective measures are sufficiently covered.

What kind of research will we fund?

We will test innovative therapy concepts in small heterogeneous patient cohorts with placebo-controlled trials, or preliminary mechanistic research that sets the stage for testing innovative therapy concepts. Any potential solution will be considered and, if judged to have potential, tested. We will iteratively improve treatments through trial and error, thereby quickly gaining new insights that bring us closer to a solution.

Who decides what research we fund?
Our executive board consists of three tinnitus patients and two tinnitus researchers. The board makes final decisions on allocation of research funding, with input from our Scientific Committee and our Patient Committee. Thus, patients are uniquely strongly represented in Tinnitus Quest. This sets us apart from all other tinnitus research funding entities and means that we only fund research with optimal potential benefit for tinnitus sufferers.
How will you know we’re making progress?

We will communicate openly about the research that we fund. Unlike what is typical in academia, where patients often must wait for years to hear about the outcomes, we will ask our research collaborators to update you quarterly along the way, so that you can truly be a part of our research journey. We will be transparent on both our successes and failures, as both can yield important insights that bring us closer to a cure.