A unique case of vibroacoustic disease: a tribute to an extraordinary patient.
This paper describes the case of a patient, Mr. A, who died in 1987. The information provided by Mr. A in life, and his insistence on making a will demanding an autopsy on his death, has given us invaluable data on Vibroacoustic Disease (VAD). Mr. A was an intellectually curious man who researched the medical literature related to his condition, and compared it to his own experience. He would describe all his sensations during his many epileptic seizures. Solely because of the results of Mr. A's autopsy, new avenues of research were initiated. These have led to new concepts and exciting new perspectives on noise-induced extraaural pathology. VAD is today a well-established and easily diagnosed entity. This paper is a tribute to Mr. A, in whose honor we have an on-going commitment to establish VAD as an occupational disease, reimbursable by Worker's Compensation.
Castelo Branco
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Occupational Medicine Research Center, Lisbon, Portugal.
D000337:Aerospace Medicine; D000401:Aircraft; D001344:Autopsy; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000209:etiology; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D006212:Hallucinations / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008889:Military Personnel; D009326:Naval Medicine; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology; D009623:Noise, Occupational / Q000009:adverse effects*; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D014012:Tinnitus / Q000209:etiology; D014732:Vibration / Q000009:adverse effects*