The International Tinnitus Journal

International Tinnitus Forum, Twentieth Anniversary Meeting

The International Tinnitus Forum (lTF) , known prior to 1995 as the International Tinnitus Study Group (ITSG), marked its twentieth anniversary meeting on September 21,2002, in San Diego, California. The objective for clinicians attending this meeting was to consider the introduction of routine vestibular testing into a medical audiological tinnitus patient protocol for the purpose of establishing the accuracy of a tinnitus diagnosis; to assist in establishing the medical significance of tinnitus; and to determine the application of routine vestibular testing for tinnitus treatment, all for the ultimate benefit of the tinnitus patient. In fact, the goals of the meetings since 1982 have been, first, to benefit the tinnitus patient by attempting to establish the accuracy of a tinnitus diagnosis and to provide modalities of treatment for tinnitus relief and, second, to integrate the basic science of the cochleovestibular system and the neuroscience of brain function as applied to the symptom of tinnitus with the clinical experiences of both patient and professional in an attempt to achieve a cure for all clinical types of tinnitus.