Whereas, 12 million of these Americans experience tinnitus to an incessant and debilitating degree during which the sounds in their ears and heads never abate, forcing them to seek medical attention; and,

Whereas, Tinnitus is frequently caused by exposure to loud noises in the workplace, where an estimated 30 million Americans are exposed to injurious levels of noise each day and where noise-induced hearing loss is the most common occupational injury; and,

Whereas, Tinnitus is also caused by exposure to loud noises in the workplace, where decibel levels of sound can reach traumatic levels and where participants frequently are not aware that temporary ringing in the ears can become permanent after continued exposure; and,

Whereas, In many cases, simply wearing proper hearing protection would protect people from tinnitus, hearing loss, or form further damage to their hearing; and,

Whereas, Many people with tinnitus are told that the only solution to their condition is to “learn to live with it”; and,

Whereas, Treatments for tinnitus are available that can help reduce the stress of incessant ringing and increase the coping skills and quality of life for people who experience this condition; and,

Whereas, The American Tinnitus Association has as its mission the charge to silence tinnitus through education, advocacy, research, and support, and is celebrating the first “National Tinnitus Awareness Week” to raise public awareness; and now therefore be it,

Resolved, That I, Jennifer M. Granholm, Governor of the State of Michigan, do hereby proclaim the week of May 15, 2004, as Tinnitus Awareness Week in Michigan.