The British Tinnitus Association is the only national charity specialising in tinnitus support. Their vision is a world where no one suffers from tinnitus. They receive no money from the government, so are 100% reliant on the generosity and support of members of the public and grant-making organisations to be able to support people with tinnitus across the UK.All of their work is paid for by the generosity of supporters like you.

My journey with Tinnitus started in May 2015, having initially being told that the constant ringing in my ears would disappear once a mild ear infection passed. Unfortunately I was quick to realise that my Tinnitus would be hanging around for a long time. In so many words an ENT specialist advised me that I would just have to learn to live with it. However, in the first year of my T I tried possibly every known suggested treatment, from white noise sound generators to acupuncture and Chinese medicine. Eventually I faced the tough reality that there is no drug offering relief, nor is there a treatment that rids of it, I would have to learn to habituate and move on with my life and that's exactly what I've done.

I'm challenging myself to swim 100 miles over the year of 2018. I will largely be doing this in my local swimming pool, where each length is 25m, 100 miles is equivalent to 160,934m, but I will make it a round 161,000m = 6,440 lengths.

I’ve booked myself into 3 open swimming events over the season between May and September. For each event completed I will add the distance swam to the running total for the year. I’ve never swam open water before so it’s going to be a serious challenge all on its own. 

For more info on me and my challenge check out my blog at petesbigswim.wordpress.com

I'm hoping that one day Doctors will be able to give real help to those suffering with Tinnitus and it is my mission over the next year to raise awareness. 

Thanks for reading and for any support you can give.