Name
#9 - Acoustic Trauma in the Battlefield – Solutions for Point-of-Injury and Prolonged Casualty Care
Date & Time
Monday, February 12, 2024, 12:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Description

Acoustic trauma is a common injury in military operational settings, with the potential to compromise hearing and jeopardize safety and mission performance. Battlefield hearing services need to be evaluated for the Department of Defense (DOD) to protect and maintain service members’ hearing during operational deployments. The current medical decision-making process remains unclear for in-theater auditory injury or illness. Using existing DOD documents and literature reviews related to operational medicine, the Defense Health Agency (DHA) Hearing Center of Excellence completed a Doctrine, Organization, Training, materiel, Leadership & Education, Personnel, Facilities, and Policy (DOTmLPF-P) analysis of battlefield auditory system assessment and treatment care. Our analysis found that acoustic trauma is not addressed in any of the DOTmLPF-P domains. We recommend that auditory system assessment and treatment be incorporated across the continuum of care, especially because current threat environments emphasize prolonged casualty care. Innovative new technology — specifically, boothless audiometry — makes it possible to provide warfighters with standard-of-care audiological assessment services in operational environments and in all roles of medical care. Boothless audiometry is portable, ruggedized, and overcomes previous logistical burdens. Automated boothless systems can be operated by technicians or by medical providers to screen, assess, and accurately diagnose hearing injuries without the need for a traditional audiometric booth. This poster session will focus on the DOTmLPF-P analysis findings and recommendations in each domain, discussing ways to include auditory system assessment and treatment services across the battlefield continuum of care. A demonstration of boothless audiometry will be included.

Location Name
Prince Georges Exhibit Hall A/B
Content Presented on Behalf of
DHA
Learning Outcomes
a.Recognize the need for auditory system services in operational environments.
b.Analyze recommendations for the individual domain changes needed to ensure auditory system care is available near point-of-injury in operational and battlefield environments.
c.Discuss ways to implement these recommendations in operational and forward deployed environments.
Session Type
Posters
Dropdown Content Presented On Behalf Of:
DHA