scholarly journals I’m Wearing My Hearing Protection – Am I Still At Risk for Hearing Loss? Lurking Ototoxins in the Military Environment

2019 ◽  
Vol 184 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 615-620
Author(s):  
Tanisha L Hammill ◽  
Elizabeth McKenna ◽  
Quintin Hecht ◽  
Kari Buchanan ◽  
Nina Pryor
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
International Agency ◽  
Exposure Limits ◽  
Effective Prevention ◽  
Hearing Health ◽  
Education Delivery ◽  
The Military

Abstract Objective Information is summarized from the overall body of published literature regarding ototoxic chemicals encountered outside of clinical exposures, largely in occupational settings. While summarizing the most common non-pharmaceutical ototoxins, this review provides clinically relevant information and recommendations such that hearing health professionals may adopt a more comprehensive and appropriate diagnostic case history, test battery, documentation scheme, and education delivery. Methods Solvents, metals, and asphyxiants literature was reviewed using PubMed, national and international agency websites, and communications with known ototoxicity experts. Results Initial intentions to summarize the existing programs for occupational ototoxicity monitoring fell short when it was discovered that such programs have not yet formalized across the major oversight agencies in the United States. Instead, recommended guidance documents and fact sheets, which highlight existing occupational exposure limits and suggest monitoring and education are discussed. Conclusions While evidence in humans is limited, potentially ototoxic substances are worthy of improved surveillance and further research to understand their ototoxic mechanisms, effects, and possible mitigation strategies. A triad approach of monitoring, protecting, and educating is recommended for effective prevention of hearing loss: the Department of Defense Hearing Center of Excellence’s Comprehensive Hearing Health Program model employs such an approach.

scholarly journals Critique of the IARC 100F Working Group Evaluation of Occupational Benzene Exposure: Suggestions for the October 2017 Benzene-Only Working Group Meeting

2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melvyn Kopstein
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Exposure ◽  
Working Group ◽  
The United States ◽  
International Agency ◽  
Group Meeting ◽  
Occupational Exposure Limits ◽  
Exposure Limits ◽  
Group Evaluation ◽  
Health Agencies ◽  
Working Group Meeting

Health agencies and institutions utilize International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) monographs because they are said to represent authoritative cancer evaluations and scientific references. The United States National Cancer Institute has provided support for the IARC Monographs Program for more than three decades. The Volume 100F Monograph, which was published in 2012, reports the evaluations of benzene and more than two dozen other agents performed by the IARC Working Group (WG) that met in Lyon, France from 20 to 27 October 2009. All had already been judged to be human carcinogens. This commentary discusses errors in the occupational exposure section (1.1.3) of the 100F Benzene Monograph (“monograph”). Millions of workers in developed and developing countries have long been known to be routinely exposed to benzene. Since exposures may exceed occupational exposure limits, the hope is that this commentary will be considered by the IARC benzene-only WG at its meeting in October 2017.

scholarly journals Effectiveness of Hearing Loss Prevention Education for Active Duty Military Personnel: A Preliminary Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 684-698
Author(s):  
Sharon Beamer ◽  
Catherine Gagne ◽  
Nutan Chada ◽  
Hina Mehta ◽  
Sheila Piper ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Health Education ◽  
Active Duty ◽  
Hearing Protection ◽  
Noise Induced Hearing Loss ◽  
Educational Materials ◽  
Loss Prevention ◽  
Prevention Education ◽  
Hearing Health ◽  
The Military

Purpose The combination of effective hearing health education and hearing protection establishes a strong foundation of hearing loss prevention efforts in the military; however, it is not clear which elements of the educational materials used in hearing loss prevention programs are the most effective in preventing noise-induced hearing loss. To explore this question, a cohort of Excellence in Government Fellowship participants and the Army Hearing Program conducted a preliminary study examining two hearing health education materials. Method A convenience sample of active duty personnel reviewed a hearing health education Technical Guide and video, developed by the military for hearing conservation programs. A “pre- and posteducation” questionnaire was administered to assess the participants' knowledge regarding hearing protection, causes of noise-induced hearing loss, effects of noise on hearing, noise exposure both on and off duty, and satisfaction with educational materials provided during the session. Results Short-term learning effects from the educational materials was achieved for some knowledge-based items (> 10% change from pre-education to posteducation), particularly for questions related to the effect of noise-induced hearing loss on ability to hear speech or hear at a distance. Thirty five percent of study participants reported using hearing protection in hazardous noise 75%–100% of the time. Primary reason for not using hearing protection was comfort. Conclusions Despite hearing loss prevention efforts in the military, hearing loss and tinnitus (ringing in the ears) continue to be prevalent service-connected disabilities among veterans. This study offers some insights regarding current hearing loss prevention understanding and practices for a group of active duty U.S. military personnel. Results from this study can inform future improvements in military hearing loss prevention education.

scholarly journals Barriers to Adult Cochlear Implant Care in the United States: An Analysis of Health Care Delivery

2021 ◽  
Vol 42 (04) ◽  
pp. 311-320
Author(s):  
Ashley M. Nassiri ◽  
John P. Marinelli ◽  
Donna L. Sorkin ◽  
Matthew L. Carlson
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Cochlear Implants ◽  
Health Care Delivery ◽  
Health Knowledge ◽  
Care Delivery ◽  
The United States ◽  
Hearing Health ◽  
Candidate Identification

AbstractPersistent underutilization of cochlear implants (CIs) in the United States is in part a reflection of a lack of hearing health knowledge and the complexities of care delivery in the treatment of sensorineural hearing loss. An evaluation of the patient experience through the CI health care delivery process systematically exposes barriers that must be overcome to undergo treatment for moderate-to-severe hearing loss. This review analyzes patient-facing obstacles including diagnosis of hearing loss, CI candidate identification and referral to surgeon, CI evaluation and candidacy criteria interpretation, and lastly CI surgery and rehabilitation. Pervasive throughout the process are several themes which demand attention in addressing inequities in hearing health disparities in the United States.

Overview of Current Approaches to Aural Rehabilitation for Adults With Cochlear Implants

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
pp. 1175-1187
Author(s):  
Rachel Glade ◽  
Erin Taylor ◽  
Deborah S. Culbertson ◽  
Christin Ray
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Clinical Practice ◽  
Cochlear Implants ◽  
Practice Patterns ◽  
The United States ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Aural Rehabilitation ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Clinical Models ◽  
Hearing Health

Purpose This clinical focus article provides an overview of clinical models currently being used for the provision of comprehensive aural rehabilitation (AR) for adults with cochlear implants (CIs) in the Unites States. Method Clinical AR models utilized by hearing health care providers from nine clinics across the United States were discussed with regard to interprofessional AR practice patterns in the adult CI population. The clinical models were presented in the context of existing knowledge and gaps in the literature. Future directions were proposed for optimizing the provision of AR for the adult CI patient population. Findings/Conclusions There is a general agreement that AR is an integral part of hearing health care for adults with CIs. While the provision of AR is feasible in different clinical practice settings, service delivery models are variable across hearing health care professionals and settings. AR may include interprofessional collaboration among surgeons, audiologists, and speech-language pathologists with varying roles based on the characteristics of a particular setting. Despite various existing barriers, the clinical practice patterns identified here provide a starting point toward a more standard approach to comprehensive AR for adults with CIs.

For Those About to Rock

2012 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-35
Author(s):  
Jennifer Tufts
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Cultural Landscape ◽  
Minimal Risk ◽  
Noise Induced Hearing Loss ◽  
Essential Information ◽  
Informed Decisions ◽  
Hearing Health ◽  
Loud Music ◽  
Protective Strategies

Loud music and noisy hobbies are part of our cultural landscape. These activities can be enjoyed with minimal risk to hearing if a few commonsense guidelines are followed. Educating clients about risks and protective strategies will empower them to make informed decisions about their hearing health that best reflect their values and priorities. In this article, the author covers essential information to avoiding noise-induced hearing loss, writing in easily accessible language to better help clinicians convey this information to their clients.

The Washington Consensus, liberal ideas and terms of the military-technological policy

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (11) ◽  
pp. 2103-2123
Author(s):  
V.L. Gladyshevskii ◽  
E.V. Gorgola ◽  
D.V. Khudyakov
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Production Management ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
The United States ◽  
Internal Quality ◽  
Industrial Complex ◽  
Active Involvement ◽  
Military Industrial Complex ◽  
Industrial Complexes ◽  
The Military

Subject. In the twentieth century, the most developed countries formed a permanent military economy represented by military-industrial complexes, which began to perform almost a system-forming role in national economies, acting as the basis for ensuring national security, and being an independent military and political force. The United States is pursuing a pronounced militaristic policy, has almost begun to unleash a new "cold war" against Russia and to unwind the arms race, on the one hand, trying to exhaust the enemy's economy, on the other hand, to reindustrialize its own economy, relying on the military-industrial complex. Objectives. We examine the evolution, main features and operational distinctions of the military-industrial complex of the United States and that of the Russian Federation, revealing sources of their military-technological and military-economic advancement in comparison with other countries. Methods. The study uses military-economic analysis, scientific and methodological apparatus of modern institutionalism. Results. Regulating the national economy and constant monitoring of budget financing contribute to the rise of military production, especially in the context of austerity and crisis phenomena, which, in particular, justifies the irrelevance of institutionalists' conclusions about increasing transaction costs and intensifying centralization in the industrial production management with respect to to the military-industrial complex. Conclusions. Proving to be much more efficient, the domestic military-industrial complex, without having such access to finance as the U.S. military monopolies, should certainly evolve and progress, strengthening the coordination, manageability, planning, maximum cost reduction, increasing labor productivity, and implementing an internal quality system with the active involvement of the State and its resources.

Problems of military-political interaction between the countries of the West and Central Asia at the turn of the XX–XXI centuries

2020 ◽  
pp. 27-33
Author(s):  
Boris G. Koybaev
Keyword(s):  
Central Asia ◽  
The United States ◽  
Military Bases ◽  
Islamic State ◽  
The West ◽  
Regional Environment ◽  
Western Influence ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
Political Interaction ◽  
The Military

Central Asia in recent history is a vast region with five Muslim States-new actors in modern international relations. The countries of Central Asia, having become sovereign States, at the turn of the XX–XXI centuries are trying to peaceful interaction not only with their underdeveloped neighbors, but also with the far-off prosperous West. At the same time, the United States and Western European countries, in their centrosilic ambitions, seek to increase their military and political presence in Central Asia and use the military bases of the region’s States as a springboard for supplying their troops during anti-terrorist and other operations. With the active support of the West, the Central Asian States were accepted as members of the United Nations. For monitoring and exerting diplomatic influence on the regional environment, the administration of the President of the Russian Federation H. W. Bush established U.S. embassies in all Central Asian States. Turkey, a NATO member and secular Islamic state, was used as a lever of indirect Western influence over Central Asian governments, and its model of successful development was presented as an example to follow.

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