Another is looking at a functional speech and noise test. One such study is looking at the hearing profile criteria currently used to determine fitness for duty. In addition to treatment and rehabilitation efforts, AASC works with – and provides some grant funding to support – outside organizations conducting hearing research. Lee Adams, an Ear, Nose, and Throat Technician.
Craig Joint Theater Hospital, demonstrates how the portable hearing test machine works with the help of Air Force Staff Sgt. Joseph Brennan, the Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor at the U.S. “Our traditional hearing conservation program, which we discovered is really designed for our industrial workforce, and our military operations force really didn’t fit into that model.”Īir Force Col.“Operational hearing services, the newest element, is which soldiers who deploy continue to receive hearing services – both hearing injury treatment as well as prevention.“Clinical hearing services, providing follow-up for those identified with hearing loss, where the audiologist determines the severity of the loss and makes sure their records are up to date.“Hearing readiness, which allows us to annually monitor our routinely exposed population for early identification of those who may have changes in their hearing that also includes education and fitting of hearing protection.“The result is the Army Hearing Program, which consists of four major areas: “The Army has been very proactive in looking at our hearing conservation program and really determined we needed to transform it to meet the needs of the 21st century,” Gates said. Gates also functions as integrated service chief for the National Audiology and Speech Center being created as part of that new facility. ”Īs part of the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process, the current Army Medical Center and the Naval Medical Center at Bethesda, are being merged into a new Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. However, we see AASC evolving into a DoD-wide audiology and speech center once we merge under the new Military Medical Center at Bethesda. “Our research center allows us to do clinical studies and, from those results, develop policy and establish guidelines that can be used within the Army. That makes us different from other medical centers dealing with hearing impairment. “We have the clinical mission, in both audiology and speech, but also our research mission. Kathy Gates, who also serves as audiology consultant for the Army Surgeon General. “Today it is the flagship center for audiology and speech pathology missions within the Army and probably unique within DoD ,” according to AASC Director Col. AASC’s primary focus was on rehabilitation – assisting soldiers with hearing impairments to return to duty, if possible, or to help them function in civilian life. One that has received less public attention than most, but has become a top concern among both military commanders and health care providers, is hearing impairment.Ĭoncerns about hearing damage sustained in combat and affecting returning veterans for the rest of their lives grew during the period from World War I to World War II, ultimately leading to the 1946 creation of the Army Audiology and Speech Center (AASC) at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. The ongoing conflict in Southwest Asia has brought new understanding – and treatments – to a number of age-old military medical issues.