Development of a comprehensive Blast-Related Auditory Injury Database (BRAID)

Area of Science:

• Military medicine
• Auditory health
• Occupational safety

Background:

• Department of Defense Hearing Conservation Program lacks specific guidance for combat noise exposures like blasts.
• Occupational hearing loss remains a significant concern for military personnel.
• Unique noise exposures in war zones require specialized attention.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the effects of blast injury on hearing sensitivity in military personnel.
• To develop an integrated capability for surveillance, assessment, and investigation of blast-related hearing outcomes.
• To create a comprehensive database for analyzing auditory injury data.

Main Methods:

• Development of the Blast-Related Auditory Injury Database (BRAID) including demographic, audiometric, and injury data.
• Inclusion of over 16,500 Navy and Marine Corps personnel, with both blast-injured and nonblast control subjects.
• Retrospective analysis of baseline and postdeployment hearing threshold data.

Main Results:

• A 39% rate of hearing loss was identified among service members with blast-related injuries.
• The BRAID dataset facilitates the study of hearing patterns following deployment-related injuries.
• Analysis of BRAID data can explore health outcomes and audiometric disposition.

Conclusions:

• Blast exposures significantly increase the risk of hearing loss in military personnel.
• The BRAID is a valuable resource for understanding and preventing auditory injuries in service members.
• Findings will inform hearing loss prevention strategies and program policies for military commands.