LU Moment: Tackling Tinnitus | S2 Ep.10

Introduction

Shelly Vitanza: Welcome to the LU moment. Thanks for listening. I'm Shelly Vitanza, the director of public affairs at Lamar University and each week, we showcase the great events, activities, programs, projects and people at Lamar University. You know, a lot of research happens at Lamar University. In fact, one of the reasons LU built the Science and Technology Building and 85,000 square foot state of the art building with lab space and maker space and lecture rooms with scientific equipment and technology is to support interdisciplinary research and provides students and faculty alike with space to create, invent, explore and of course, research. And it is happening.

We got word this past week that Daniel Quispe, I believe I'm pronouncing it correctly, one of the outstanding honors student at Lamar and he was accepted to participate in the prestigious posters on the Hill Conference in April, in Washington D.C.. This event includes a presentation at the Capitol in front of policymakers and other congressional meetings and it is a very rare privilege for any university to be invited to this event.

So we're very pleased with Daniel and usually just one university per state is invited any given year. So a very prestigious position and we're excited that Lamar University has been included and recognized for its ongoing research.

Tackling Tinnitus with Dr. Vinaya Manchaiah

Shelly Vitanza: Speaking of ongoing research, we have with us, Dr. Vinaya Manchaiah, professor of Audiology, a speech and hearing sciences there at Lamar University and he is currently conducting research about tinnitus or a buzzing or ringing in the ear. Welcome.

Dr. Vinaya Manchaiah: Thank you.

Shelly Vitanza: Glad you're here. So is this a prevalent issue? Are a lot of people have buzzing or ringing in the ear?

Dr. Vinaya Manchaiah: Yeah, it is a highly prevalent issue. You know, if you look at the general population, 10% of the population will have some kind of ringing or buzzing on an ongoing basis.

Shelly Vitanza: Ongoing all the time.

Dr. Vinaya Manchaiah: Not all the time, but you know, they may notice it every day or every few days, but some people may have it all the time. But it can be more prevalent in some people. You know, some people have some kind of hearing problems if they work in icy situations. And also, tinnitus is the leading cause for compensation, disability and compensation with veterans.

Shelly Vitanza: Really?

Dr. Vinaya Manchaiah: So there's quite a prevalent condition in general population.

Shelly Vitanza: Do we know the cause?

Dr. Vinaya Manchaiah: Well, there are series of causes. Exposure to loud noise, taking some kind of medication. Lots of things can cause this, but we still don't understand why some people who have tinnitus are bothered by this compared to some people who have that it is but not bothered.

Shelly Vitanza: They're not bothered. Okay. So people are bothered by it. Okay. And so you're doing research not to cure it, but to help manage it. Is that correct?

Dr. Vinaya Manchaiah: Yeah, that is correct. And you know, it's, you may have learned that there is no cure for tinnitus as of now, but that doesn't mean there is no help. There are lots of different things that people with tinnitus can do to live better. And the strategies that are proven to show a lot of benefit are based on what is called cognitive behavior therapy or in other words, CBT. So that's what we are offering. The strategy is based on CBT. But the interesting thing about our study is we want to offer this a wire online and traditionally, you have to go and see a clinician who is a chain. Whereas in this program, you can do this in the comfort of your home just using the internet.

Shelly Vitanza: Really? And so how long does it take and what all is involved?

Dr. Vinaya Manchaiah: First, this program is for those who are involved in those who have tinnitus but have significant problems like difficulty concentrating, sleeping and so on.

Shelly Vitanza: So it really disrupts their daily life and activity. And do you qualify them? I mean, do you talk to them and qualify them or is this all online as well?

Dr. Vinaya Manchaiah: Well, we have a series of steps. The first step is they need to go to the website, www.tacklingtinnitus.org, which provides a detailed information about the study. If the thing appeals to them, then they can register and complete a series of questionnaires. So there's the first step.

Shelly Vitanza: Got it.

Dr. Vinaya Manchaiah: And following that, we reviewed this detailed questionnaire and we have a telephone interview to make sure that we understand the condition clearly and if they're qualified then we put them on in an eight week program. So during these eight weeks they get, each week, they get a different things to learn. They learn about what is tinnitus and what is causing it and how to manage this. The Lander Luxation techniques, they learn to change their view towards tinnitus. And we have studied this in the past, in many studies and we have seen a significant change in the tinnitus related distress as a result of undergoing this program.

Shelly Vitanza: So what kind of distress can it cause? I'm just curious about that. How does it impact people?

Dr. Vinaya Manchaiah: Well, people with tinnitus tend to have higher anxiety, higher depression, more sleep problems and also reduced quality of life.

Shelly Vitanza: Yeah, I would think that they wouldn't be as social and they wouldn't want to get out and do as much. Right?

Dr. Vinaya Manchaiah: There is actually less. We have not seen much of an issue with a social activity, but some people can be isolated as a result of tinnitus. But I think it's more internal in the sense that we'll start it may for some people it may start off at their daily life. They may lose interest in work. And especially if they're not sleeping well, that will have major consequences with their life.

Shelly Vitanza: And with withdrawal. So what is your hope with this study? How many people do you need?

Dr. Vinaya Manchaiah: Well, first, let me tell you about why we want to do this research. First, there is no cure for this condition, but there are proven strategies that can help. But depending on where you read and where you hear, you hear a lot of different things that may help. But the problem is many of these, what management strategies that are available online, they're not evidence-based. That means they're not scientifically proven to benefit. So we want to develop a therapy at a strategy that is scientifically proven to benefit a large number of people. So that is number one.

Dr. Vinaya Manchaiah: Number two, why there is actually, it's not easy to get reimbursed for tinnitus management through your insurance.

Shelly Vitanza: Right.

Dr. Vinaya Manchaiah: So this is why there is an issue of affordability and accessibility. So we want to use the internet as a medium because we can treat a lot of people with limited amount of costs. So this is the main reason why we want to do this study. And currently we are just completed a pilot trial, where we tested about 30 people in a small group and we see really good results. Now we are doing a larger study where we want to enroll 200 people into this program and administer an eight week program and see how they respond to this treatment.

Shelly Vitanza: Well, what I think I'm hearing you say is that if you bring some scientific evidence to this type of cognitive behavior therapy, then maybe insurance would pay for it. Is that the long term possible?

Dr. Vinaya Manchaiah: Exactly, yes. We want to develop an alternative therapy that you know that that is scientifically proven, evidence-based so that it becomes a part of the healthcare where insurance recognizes it and then pay for these kinds of services.

Shelly Vitanza: Perfect. It's volunteer. It's free.

Dr. Vinaya Manchaiah: Yeah, it is a free program. All you need to do is to just go to the website, www.tacklingtinnitus.org and we have a detailed information about this study and if you have any questions you can write to us and following the questionnaire completion, we'll of course, have a telephone call.

Shelly Vitanza: Perfect. Very, very good. Thank you so much for being here and telling us all about that.

Dr. Vinaya Manchaiah: Thank you for having me.

Shelly Vitanza: Very, very important research at Lamar University that will impact real people in real time. So that's important. Lamar University is a good partner to the community and it's really helping people. Thank you.

Kara Hawthorne

Shelly Vitanza: Okay. Every spring, a big event happens at Lamar University and that event is coming up. It is Le Grand Bal and it is a function of the friends of the arts. I have with me in studio is Kara Hawthorn. She's chairing this wonderful event that's kind of a culmination of everything that's good about the college of fine arts and communication, right, Kara?

Kara Hawthorn: It is. It's wonderful. It is a fundraiser, but the funds that we raise go directly back to the College of Fine Arts and Communications. It goes to help support scholarships for students. It goes to support supplies, guest speakers, trips, anything that is not in the university budget is what we raise money for. Typically, in the last few years, we've raised about $130,000 from this event.

Shelly Vitanza: Wow.

Kara Hawthorn: So it makes a tremendous impact in the community and especially at Lamar University's College of Fine Arts.

Shelly Vitanza: And it's a really different event. I mean, we've got a lot of events in this town, but there is nothing like Le Grand Bal because you have this art component. Well really, you have the arts, there's always some type of entertainment, but we've got the culinary, the food is always fabulous. But then we have this gigantic art show. So can you start with that? Because I think it starts before the actual event, right?

Kara Hawthorn: Yes, absolutely. So Le Grand Bal has gone back, I think, almost 50 years and every year has a very unique theme. This year our theme is an evening in Tuscany and so we tried to focus the entire event around this theme. So we will begin the evening with an amazing art show at the Dishman Art Museum, which is right there on the Lamar campus. It features art from local artists. Student artists will have sculptures, prints, photographs, paintings. It is amazing and all of those items are, those art pieces are auctioned off and they also go into our fundraising efforts. Then we will move to an evening at the Setzer Center, where we feature vocalists this year. We will have students from the opera theater who will be performing. We also have student musicians. We have people who are students who work in the theater department who will help us with lighting and design. We also have an amazing dinner, as you mentioned. It is a wonderful evening.

Shelly Vitanza: It is a fabulous evening and really does showcase every aspect of the college. Formal event?

Kara Hawthorn: It is. It is a formal event. This is an evening where you can dress up and honor the college and also just have a great night out. It is a very elegant evening. We have a very elegant dinner, drinks, dancing. It is probably one of the most fun events in the city.

Shelly Vitanza: It really is.

Kara Hawthorn: As glamorous, fun and just a showcase of the arts.

Shelly Vitanza: Now doesn't the art exhibit, can people begin to see the art on display sooner than the event, which is, we haven't even talked about the actual date, but can't people get into the Dishman and see the art and began to bid on it early? Am I making that up, Kara?

Kara Hawthorn: Yes. No, I believe you are correct. So the art will be displayed at the Dishman Art Gallery, as we mentioned, and the event is March 28th. So in the evening, it closes for the event, but I believe, the days leading up to that event, it will be open for public viewing.

Shelly Vitanza: That's wonderful. I've picked up a few pieces of great art at that event and it's really just outstanding because you get to support an art student and the university at the same time and those scholarships and conferences and different things that the students can participate in. And then you have this beautiful piece of art in your home.

Kara Hawthorn: Oh yes. And many times the artist is there standing there near their piece and they can explain all the details, their thought going into it, how they used mixed media or just traditional art supplies to create it. But it's a wonderful opportunity for you to meet the artists who create it.

Shelly Vitanza: And inspire them and all that kind of thing. Okay. We always honor someone and this year I feel like it's long overdue.

Kara Hawthorn: Absolutely.

Shelly Vitanza: We're honoring David Cargill and of course, Sandra Clark. Can you talk a little bit about each of those individuals?

Kara Hawthorn: Yes. David Cargill is an amazing artist, who is right here in Southeast Texas.

Shelly Vitanza: He works all over town.

Kara Hawthorn: Absolutely. And his work is all over the world.

Shelly Vitanza: Yes.

Kara Hawthorn: But you've probably driven past or seen some of his beautiful sculptures. A lot of them are made from bronze. He has a beautiful display at St. Jude Thaddeus Catholic Church. There are many of his sculptures there. But I think most people will remember the Mirabeau Lamar sculpture that is just kind of the focal point on the Lamar University campus.

Shelly Vitanza: Right in the quad.

Kara Hawthorn: It is. And that is one of the features of our invitation and our Save the Date and things that you can see on the website, which is lamar.edu/legrandbal.

Shelly Vitanza: Okay. And then Sandra Clark, just an amazing person here in town who's probably chaired many events.

Kara Hawthorn: She has.

Shelly Vitanza: She's a big friend of the arts.

Kara Hawthorn: Oh absolutely. If you've ever gone to any art event, you have seen Sandra Clark. She is an amazing patron of the arts and she is also a vocalist herself. So she is a wonderful community artist.

Shelly Vitanza: We're looking very forward to this event. People can get more information at lamar.edu/legrandbal?

Kara Hawthorn: Absolutely. Yes.

Shelly Vitanza: Okay. You had some cookies, if those are any, some Tuscan cookies, if those are representative of the food, it's going to be fabulous. I had a little preview of the cookies and they were so good.

Kara Hawthorn: The food's amazing.

Shelly Vitanza: Thank you, Kara. Really appreciate it.

Kara Hawthorn: Thank you!

Spindletop Gladys City

Shelly Vitanza: Did you know that the Lucas Gusher blew on January 10th, 1901; it blew for nine days from a depth of 1,139 feet at 100,000 barrels per day? We'll be celebrating this with a major event this year on October 10th. Mark your calendar now. The Spindletop Gladys City museum is on the Lamar University campus.

Shelly Vitanza: Hey, thanks for listening to the LU Moment. We really appreciate it. I'm Shelly Vitanza, the director of public affairs at Lamar University, which is the pride of Southeast Texas.