Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.  

I will be riding in the Prudential Ride London-Surrey 100 mile sportive on the 2nd August 2015 in aid of the British Tinnitus Association. 

This is the world’s largest cycling event which is in its third year and is a legacy of the London Olympic Games.  This televised event follows a route on closed roads from the Olympic Park down into Surrey and finishing down the Mall in front of Buckingham Palace.  There will be 25,000 amateur cyclists.

BTA is my chosen charity because my wife, Cindy, is a long-term sufferer of both tinnitus and hyperacusis.   The quality of her every day life changed dramatically following a holiday in 1999.  Cindy and I went to a Turkish live entertainment concert were we sat close to one of the loud speakers without realising the impact this was going to have.  Cindy walked away with loud noises in her ears.  The next morning when she woke, the buzzing noise was much louder with feelings of intense pressure in both ears and was in total panic.  These loud noises which can include buzzing, humming and hissing are still here today 24/7.

Shortly afterwards Cindy found that in addition to the tinnitus, she was also unable to tolerate normal every day sounds which we all take for granted, such as people chattering, clanging of dishes, clapping, emergency vehicle sirens, alarms etc.  As a result she has been unable to go to cinemas, theatres, busy restaurants or anywhere that is noisy.   Cindy was even unable to attend our daughter’s graduation ceremony. 

Her condition was diagnosed as hyperacusis, which has been defined as: "a condition characterised by an over sensitivity to certain frequency and volume ranges of sound.  A person with hyperacusis has difficulty tolerating everyday sounds some of which may seem unpleasantly or painfully loud to that person but not to others".  

When Cindy is exposed to various types of noise, such as at social gatherings, restaurants and even music in shops,  her tinnitus is exacerbated, making it difficult for her to function and even causing insomnia for several days afterwards.

 Quote from a sufferer: 

“My name is Arthur and I’m 71.  My problems began nearly 30 years ago.  At first it was irritating and my GP said I would just have to learn to live with it.  But in 1995 the problem got so bad I was struggling to cope.  The sound of a steam train constantly hissing in one ear drove me to the brink of suicide.  The noise was so bad that I was struggling to get even two hours sleep a night whilst still trying to hold down a job”.

There is no current medical cure for tinnitus but BTA are working hard raising funds for ongoing medical research to ultimately seek a cure as well as providing much needed support to individuals to help manage their condition and training for professionals.

This is why I am supporting BTA in a plea for you to donate as generously as you can in order to support the BTA and raise awareness of this debilitating condition, and further fund the BTA's great work.

Norman