Year of Publication

2018

College

Public Health

Date Available

5-1-2018

Degree Name

Master of Public Health (M.P.H.)

Committee Member

Kathi Harp, PhD

Advisor

Sarah Wackerbarth, PhD

Committee Member

Moaz Abdelwadoud, MD, DrPH, MPH

Co-Director of Graduate Studies

Richard Ingram, DrPH

Abstract

The present study (1) examined the Army Hearing Program (AHP) and (2) provided a retrospective policy analysis on several of the policies embedded within the AHP, more specifically the hearing readiness policy, to determine their efficacy and impact regarding noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). The Beaufort Longest Framework was the analytic framework for this project. It was also used to structure the writing and formatting of this report. An extensive literature review of Army Medical Department (AMEDD) journals and Public Health journals were used in addition to several published Army Regulations and Pamphlets for guidance within conducting the Methods section of this paper. NIHL was discussed and the four elements of the AHP (i.e., Hearing Readiness, Clinical Hearing Services, Operational Hearing Services, and Hearing Conservation) were compared and contrasted regarding its impact on mitigating NIHL. Data were used from literature as well as from the Army Public Health Center (APHC). The results revealed that rates of significant threshold shifts (STS) and hearing loss decreased tremendously during the timeframe following implementation of the hearing readiness policy in 2007 and the Army Hearing Program in 2008.

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