title: The impact of hearing impairment and noise-induced hearing injury on quality of life in the active-duty military population: challenges to the study of this issue.
abstract: The objectives of this research were to 1) summarize the available evidence on the impact of hearing loss on quality of life (QOL) among U.S. active-duty service members, 2) describe the QOL instruments that have been used to quantify the impact of hearing loss on quality of life, 3) examine national population-level secondary databases and report on their utility for studying the impact of hearing loss on QOL among active-duty service members, and 4) provide recommendations for future studies that seek to quantify the impact of hearing loss in this population. There is a lack of literature that addresses the intersection of hearing impairment, the military population, and quality of life measures. For audiological research, U.S. military personnel offer a unique research population, as they are exposed to noise levels and blast environments that are highly unusual in civilian work settings and can serve as a model population for studying the impact on QOL associated with these conditions. Our team recommends conducting a study on the active-duty service member population using a measurement instrument suitable for determining decreases in QOL specifically due to hearing loss.
authors.affiliation: Deptartment of Health Policy and Management, School of Health Sciences and Practice, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY 10595 USA.
authors.forename: Hasanat
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Alamgir
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, 7411 John Smith Drive, Suite 1100, San Antonio, TX 78229 USA.
authors.forename: Caryn A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Turner
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, 7411 John Smith Drive, Suite 1100, San Antonio, TX 78229 USA.
authors.forename: Nicole J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, 7411 John Smith Drive, Suite 1100, San Antonio, TX 78229 USA.
authors.forename: Sharon P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Cooper
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, 7411 John Smith Drive, Suite 1100, San Antonio, TX 78229 USA.
authors.forename: Jose A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Betancourt
authors.affiliation: National Center for Rehabilitative Auditory Research, 3710 SW US Veteran Hospital Road, Portland, OR 97239 USA.
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Henry
authors.affiliation: Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, 8901 Wisconsin Ave, Bethesda, MD 20814 USA.
authors.forename: Andrew J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Senchak
authors.affiliation: Department of Defense Hearing Center of Excellence, 59MDW/SG02O, 2200 Bergquist Drive, Suite 1, JBSA Lackland, TX 78236 USA.
authors.forename: Tanisha L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Hammill
authors.affiliation: Department of Defense Hearing Center of Excellence, 59MDW/SG02O, 2200 Bergquist Drive, Suite 1, JBSA Lackland, TX 78236 USA.
authors.forename: Mark D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Packer
keywords: Hearing impairment; Hearing impairment and noise-induced hearing injury (HINIHI); Hearing loss; Military; Noise-induced hearing injury; Quality of life (QOL); Service members; Tinnitus