0:00:14 > 0:00:15Peace and quiet.
0:00:19 > 0:00:22Something that everyone needs in their life from time to time.
0:00:24 > 0:00:29But can you imagine never being able to experience silence again?
0:00:29 > 0:00:31PIERCING WHISTLE
0:00:31 > 0:00:33Never having quiet in your head, but instead,
0:00:33 > 0:00:35being tormented by constant noise?
0:00:36 > 0:00:38MECHANICAL WHIRRING
0:00:38 > 0:00:42It's an experience that I know all about, because I have tinnitus.
0:00:42 > 0:00:45Now, most people think it's just caused by too much noisy music,
0:00:45 > 0:00:48but I got it as a result of malaria.
0:00:48 > 0:00:51And tinnitus left me feeling extremely stressed,
0:00:51 > 0:00:52because you can't escape it.
0:00:52 > 0:00:56And I was told it would be with me for ever.
0:00:56 > 0:00:57RADIO STATIC
0:00:57 > 0:01:02And the soundtrack that tinnitus gave policy advisor Bev Reategui
0:01:02 > 0:01:04wasn't exactly easy listening.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07If you don't tune the radio in properly,
0:01:07 > 0:01:11then you get all of this static. It feels like that.
0:01:11 > 0:01:14It's a very bizarre thing to be happening.
0:01:14 > 0:01:17People expect if you get really stressed,
0:01:17 > 0:01:21or have a difficult time with your job, or your family, then,
0:01:21 > 0:01:25"Oh, you'll have a heart attack, or you'll have a stroke."
0:01:25 > 0:01:28They don't say, "Well, actually, you might end up with tinnitus."
0:01:28 > 0:01:31Which is exactly what happened to me.
0:01:31 > 0:01:36The stress of Bev's demanding job triggered constant tinnitus.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39I just was terrified.
0:01:39 > 0:01:41I thought, am I going mad?
0:01:41 > 0:01:46Is my brain starting to make up all these noises?
0:01:46 > 0:01:49They were getting louder, and louder, and louder.
0:01:49 > 0:01:52And you can't turn it off.
0:01:52 > 0:01:55And I was just so scared.
0:01:55 > 0:02:00With no end in sight, Bev was signed off on long-term sick leave,
0:02:00 > 0:02:02and her mood declined.
0:02:02 > 0:02:05You can slide easily into depression.
0:02:05 > 0:02:07And I'm sure that I was quite depressed.
0:02:13 > 0:02:15Tinnitus is surprisingly commonplace.
0:02:15 > 0:02:19One in 10 people will experience it at some point in their lives.
0:02:19 > 0:02:21There is no medical cure for tinnitus,
0:02:21 > 0:02:25so many of those affected are told to just learn to live with it.
0:02:25 > 0:02:28This is where the British Tinnitus Association comes in,
0:02:28 > 0:02:30because they don't think that's good enough.
0:02:30 > 0:02:33Over the years, they have helped hundreds of thousands of people
0:02:33 > 0:02:35learn how to manage their condition.
0:02:38 > 0:02:40Years spent working on noisy building sites
0:02:40 > 0:02:44gave Richard tinnitus that came and went.
0:02:44 > 0:02:46But when tragedy struck his family,
0:02:46 > 0:02:50Richard's tinnitus suddenly became a much more serious problem.
0:02:51 > 0:02:55I noticed my tinnitus seemed to be constant
0:02:55 > 0:02:57instead of being intermittent,
0:02:57 > 0:02:59which really worried me.
0:03:01 > 0:03:03No longer able to bear loud noise,
0:03:03 > 0:03:05Richard had to give up the job he loved.
0:03:05 > 0:03:09He went to his GP, hoping for a cure.
0:03:09 > 0:03:10Basically he said to me,
0:03:10 > 0:03:15"You've got to learn to live with it", which was hard to hear.
0:03:15 > 0:03:17PIERCING WHISTLE
0:03:17 > 0:03:20The thought of things not getting better
0:03:20 > 0:03:22was something that dragged me down.
0:03:22 > 0:03:24I felt like I was trapped in a cage.
0:03:24 > 0:03:28And the more I thought it, the worse it became.
0:03:29 > 0:03:31RADIO STATIC
0:03:31 > 0:03:34To feel these emotions was completely alien to me,
0:03:34 > 0:03:36and to feel this low.
0:03:36 > 0:03:40I was desperate, very desperate at that time.
0:03:42 > 0:03:46And I went for a walk down to the bay.
0:03:47 > 0:03:52And it went through my mind, for a short while, about taking my life.
0:03:57 > 0:04:01It's all too easy to feel isolated by tinnitus,
0:04:01 > 0:04:03but the British Tinnitus Association
0:04:03 > 0:04:06is dedicated to supporting people with the condition.
0:04:06 > 0:04:08Their work is crucial
0:04:08 > 0:04:10when you think almost half a million people have tinnitus
0:04:10 > 0:04:15severe enough to have a major impact on the lives.
0:04:15 > 0:04:17The BTA work tirelessly to provide support,
0:04:17 > 0:04:20advice and management techniques for those affected,
0:04:20 > 0:04:24but they're also at the forefront for commissioning research
0:04:24 > 0:04:25into new ways of treating tinnitus.
0:04:28 > 0:04:30Like the pioneering approach being
0:04:30 > 0:04:32taken at University College Hospital in London.
0:04:32 > 0:04:37Clinical psychologist Dr McKenna is teaching patients a technique
0:04:37 > 0:04:40that has been known about for thousands of years in the East,
0:04:40 > 0:04:42mindfulness meditation.
0:04:42 > 0:04:45And it seems to have a radical effect when applied to tinnitus.
0:04:48 > 0:04:53Mindfulness invites people to pay attention to all that going on,
0:04:53 > 0:04:55including their tinnitus.
0:04:56 > 0:05:00And contrary to what some people might think,
0:05:00 > 0:05:03that can lead to a much less stressful experience,
0:05:03 > 0:05:07and one that doesn't involve you going on, and on, and on
0:05:07 > 0:05:09trying to distract yourself.
0:05:10 > 0:05:12It's a skilled intervention
0:05:12 > 0:05:15that has to be carried out over time by professionals.
0:05:15 > 0:05:17And groups like this will soon be taking part
0:05:17 > 0:05:21in a major clinical trial, supported by the BTA, which could enable
0:05:21 > 0:05:25the treatment to become much more widely available.
0:05:26 > 0:05:30If we want this approach to tinnitus management to go forward,
0:05:30 > 0:05:33and many of our patients hope that it will,
0:05:33 > 0:05:35then we need hard, scientific data.
0:05:35 > 0:05:37That is what this trial is about.
0:05:39 > 0:05:42It seems so simple, but when you have tinnitus, it is a real struggle
0:05:42 > 0:05:46to train yourself to step outside of the condition.
0:05:46 > 0:05:49Learning to meditate is a bit more complicated than taking a pill,
0:05:49 > 0:05:53but it's by supporting new approaches to the problem
0:05:53 > 0:05:55that the BTA is helping to transform the lives
0:05:55 > 0:05:57of those living with tinnitus.
0:06:01 > 0:06:02Richard was one of the first to take part
0:06:02 > 0:06:05in Dr McKenna's mindfulness training,
0:06:05 > 0:06:06and the effects have been startling.
0:06:08 > 0:06:12We did the meditation for about 20 minutes, and I was aware that,
0:06:12 > 0:06:15for 20 minutes of that meditation,
0:06:15 > 0:06:17I had not been aware of my tinnitus.
0:06:20 > 0:06:25So, it had a very massive impact, more or less straight away on me.
0:06:27 > 0:06:31If you can come to acceptance, you've found a way through,
0:06:33 > 0:06:37and you can learn to live with it then for the rest of your life.
0:06:40 > 0:06:43And supporting new treatments is not all the BTA does,
0:06:43 > 0:06:45it also enables people to help each other.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50We had help from the BTA to set up
0:06:50 > 0:06:54and run our own self-help group in Cardiff, and it's been
0:06:54 > 0:06:58running for a couple of months, and going from strength to strength.
0:07:00 > 0:07:04I accept what has happened to me now, I don't fight it, I accept it.
0:07:06 > 0:07:07Here she comes!
0:07:07 > 0:07:10By demonstrating the effectiveness of mindfulness
0:07:10 > 0:07:11through Dr McKenna's trial,
0:07:11 > 0:07:15others may get to experience a transformation like Richard's.
0:07:15 > 0:07:18I didn't realise how powerful my mind was
0:07:18 > 0:07:24until I discovered mindfulness can actually change the way you think.
0:07:24 > 0:07:29I know without its help, I don't know if I would be here today.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34Tinnitus is more common than you think.
0:07:34 > 0:07:35If you don't have tinnitus yourself,
0:07:35 > 0:07:37you're likely to know someone who does.
0:07:37 > 0:07:39Yet research into the condition
0:07:39 > 0:07:41is chronically underfunded by government.
0:07:41 > 0:07:45The BTA is a major supporter of research, and with your help
0:07:45 > 0:07:50it can fund more projects, transforming the lives of millions.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53Please go to the website:
0:07:53 > 0:07:55..and you can donate.
0:07:55 > 0:07:59If you haven't got internet access, please call:
0:07:59 > 0:08:02and if you can't get through the first time,
0:08:02 > 0:08:04please, please keep trying.
0:08:04 > 0:08:09You can also donate ?10 by texting:
0:08:11 > 0:08:14Texts cost ?10, plus your standard network message charge,
0:08:14 > 0:08:17and the whole ?10 goes to the BTA.
0:08:17 > 0:08:22Full terms and conditions can be found at bbc.co.uk/lifeline.
0:08:22 > 0:08:25Telephone calls are free from most landlines.
0:08:25 > 0:08:29Some networks and mobile operators will charge for these calls.
0:08:29 > 0:08:31If you would like to post a donation,
0:08:31 > 0:08:35please make your cheque payable to the British Tinnitus Association,
0:08:35 > 0:08:39and send it to FREEPOST BBC Lifeline Appeal,
0:08:39 > 0:08:42writing BTA on the back of the envelope.
0:08:42 > 0:08:45And if you want the charity to claim Gift Aid on your donation,
0:08:45 > 0:08:48please include an e-mail or postal address,
0:08:48 > 0:08:51so they can send you a Gift Aid form.
0:08:52 > 0:08:54Thank you.
0:08:58 > 0:09:00Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd