AJA
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

American Journal of Audiology Vol.14 161-168 December 2005. doi:10.1044/1059-0889(2005/018)
© American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow My Folders
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Helfer, T. M.
Right arrow Articles by Lee, R. B.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Helfer, T. M.
Right arrow Articles by Lee, R. B.

Postdeployment Hearing Loss in U.S. Army Soldiers Seen at Audiology Clinics From April 1, 2003, Through March 31, 2004

Thomas M. Helfer 1, Nikki N. Jordan 1, and Robyn B. Lee 1

1 U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine, Edgewood, MD

thomas.helfer{at}us.army.mil

Purpose: U.S. Army soldiers face unique noise exposures in the current deployed setting. The effects of these deployment-related exposures have not previously been documented.

Method: In an attempt to initiate this process, medical evaluations performed at military audiology clinics from April 2003 through March 2004 were reviewed to compare noise-induced hearing loss injury (NIHLI) outcomes among soldiers whose diagnoses were classified as postdeployment-related versus non-postdeployment-related. Sentinel NIHLI outcomes of interest included acoustic trauma, permanent threshold shift, eardrum perforation, tinnitus, and military-specific H-3 and H-4 hearing loss profiles.

Results: Significantly higher rates of NIHLI and associated outcomes were observed among soldiers whose diagnoses were postdeployment-related.

Conclusions: Based on the findings from this evaluation, recommendations are provided for enhancing the force health protection posture for prevention of hearing loss in future deployments.

Key Words: noise-induced hearing loss injury, surveillance, postdeployment, evidence-based practice

Submitted on October 15, 2004
Revised on March 30, 2005
Accepted on August 12, 2005






HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
All ASHA Journals AJA AJSLP JSLHR LSHSS
Copyright © 2005 by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.