International State-of-Science Meeting on Blast-Related Tinnitus

ATTENTION ALL TINNITUS RESEARCHERS AND HEALTH PROFESSIONALS!

The United States U.S. Department of Defense is hosting an International State-of-Science Meeting on Blast-Related Tinnitus on November 15-16, 2011 in Northern Virginia.

As you may know, acoustic trauma is the most frequently observed injury in our war fighters returning from Afghanistan and Iraq. Not surprisingly, hearing loss and tinnitus are the respective #1 and #2 compensatory illnesses reported by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

In 2005, Congress mandated that the Institute of Medicine (IOM) carry out a study assessing several issues related to noise induced hearing loss and tinnitus associated with service in the Armed Forces since World War II. The IOM study recommended the Services improve the prevention of, and surveillance for, hearing loss and tinnitus. The Department of Defense (DoD) Hearing Center of Excellence identified tinnitus as a top research initiative in their organizational concept of operation plan due to the enormous effect tinnitus has on the war fighter and veteran populations.

The objectives of this State-of-the-Science Meeting are to:

• Identify the cause of tinnitus and determine its association, if any, with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
• Determine if there are existing diagnostic tools that can be used to objectively identify tinnitus
• Identify and prioritize the research gaps that exist in standardizing methods used in the treatment of tinnitus

On Day 1 of the meeting, experts from scientific, medical and academic communities will present their work; and on Day 2, all attendees will participate in working groups. Your participation will help achieve the objectives and address the following questions:

1. What are the current theories concerning the neurobiological basis of tinnitus?
2. Is there substantial evidence that tinnitus is associated with PTSD and TBI. If so, what are the common biomarkers?
3. What are the current technological approaches to tinnitus diagnosis?
4. How can research standardize methods of effective tinnitus treatment?

Approximately 130 subject matter experts from the DoD, other Federal agencies, academia, industry and the international community will be invited to participate in this meeting.

SPACE IS LIMITED! Don’t miss the opportunity to participate in this important meeting.
If you are interested in attending, please sign up using the form at the bottom of this page NO LATER than August 22, 2011.:

If you are interested in presenting in the area of diagnostics, etiology, treatment or tinnitus related to TBI/PTSD, please indicate your intention and focus area in the form below AND submit a 200-500 word abstract of your presentation to Lt. Col Robert Shull at robert.shull@amedd.army.mil NO LATER THAN midnight on August 29, 2011.

https://blastinjuryresearch.amedd.army.mil/index.cfm?f=application.pco_sos_2011_tinnitus

We hope to see you there!

If you know someone who would benefit from this information, please pass this event information along.