Air Force
Presentations from Air Force members include the following:
KT: From Noise Blast to Recovery
Capt David Pedersen
Agent KT was deployed on a special assignment and sustained noise blast injury with multi-issues. Audiology and ENT have followed him for the past 2 years. This presentation of his case will start with the blast and course through his intervention.
The Wideband Hearing Intelligibility and Sound Protection (WHISPr) Initiative
Capt Brian W. Hobbs
The objective of the WHISPr initiative is to improve communications for forward-deployed tactical personnel as well as emergency first responders using personal protective equipment (PPE). This presentation will outline AFRL’s efforts in evaluating tactical in-ear headsets that integrate hearing protection with state of the art radio communication, and evaluating communication capabilities during the wear of emergency response PPE. Initial data pertaining to localization of ambient sounds, attenuation of noise and receptive speech intelligibility will be reviewed.
BAHA Case Studies and Tricare Compensation
Capt Gretchen Haywood
Wilford Hall Medical Center (WHMC) is the primary Air Force location for Bone Anchored Hearing Aid (BAHA) surgery and fittings. The BAHA is an alternative to traditional hearing aids for individuals with single sided deafness as well as those with conductive and mixed losses. The presentation will include WHMC cases of patient satisfaction as well as audiometric results. In addition, Tricare/compensation issues and Cochlear/BAHA contract info will be discussed.
Sonovation Frequency Compression Hearing Aids vs. Typical Digital Hearing Aids Case Presentations
Maj Bridget N. McMullen, Lt Courtney Dobbs
We will discuss the benefits and limitations of frequency compression hearing aids and compare them with conventional hearing aids. We will discuss ideal candidates for this technology including active duty members and people whose only other option is often cochlear implants. Frequency Compression hearing aids “transpose” high frequency information (where many hearing impaired people have “dead” regions) and centers them in the lower frequencies, into the patient’s usable hearing range. This transposition helps the patients discriminate voiced and voiceless sounds and understand speech better. We will compare several patients’ performance with conventional digital hearing aids and the Sonovation Frequency Compression hearing aids in several speech environments and with questionnaires.
Reported Benefits of Bilateral Cochlear Implantation
Capt April Myers
Little is known regarding the benefits of bilateral cochlear implantation. Published reports have shown that adult users demonstrate unprecedented benefit with two implants, and this may be related to sound processing. More research is being conducted regarding the advantage of two implants versus one implant; bilateral benefit in pediatric implant recipients; and the effects of bilateral implantation on music perception. I will discuss research results from two leading cochlear implant manufacturers as well as the subjective perceptions for one of Wilford Hall Medical Center’s own bilateral cochlear implant recipients.