Helfer Thomas M, Jordan Nikki N, Lee Robyn B, Pietrusiak Paul, Cave Kara, Schairer Kim
U.S. Army Public Health Command (Provisional) Instituteof Public Health, Gunpowder, MD, USA.
Am J Audiol. 2011 Jun;20(1):33-41. doi: 10.1044/1059-0889(2011/10-0033). Epub 2011 Apr 7.
To evaluate noise-induced hearing injury (NIHI) and blast-related comorbidities among U.S. Army soldiers in an effort to understand the morbidity burden and future health service requirements for wounded war fighters returning from the Central Command Area of Responsibility, predominantly from Iraq and Afghanistan deployments.
Inpatient and outpatient records with diagnosed NIHI or blast-related comorbidities (e.g., significant threshold shift [STS], noise-induced hearing loss, tinnitus, sensorineural hearing loss, eardrum perforations, mild traumatic brain injury, and posttraumatic stress disorder) were extracted for active duty soldiers returning from combat deployments. Records were limited to those within 6 months of the soldier's return date from April 2003 through June 2009. To account for changes in STS coding practice, STS rates observed after October 1, 2006, were used to extrapolate prior probable postdeployment STS.
Statistically significant increases were observed for tinnitus, dizziness, eardrum perforations, and speech-language disorders. The combination of observed and extrapolated STS yielded a conservative estimate of 27,427 cases.
Estimates can be used to forecast resource requirements for hearing services among veterans. This article could serve as a guide for resourcing and innovating prevention measures and treatment in this population. Data provided may also serve as a baseline for evaluating prevention measures.
评估美国陆军士兵中噪声性听力损伤（NIHI）及与爆炸相关的合并症，以了解从中央司令部责任区（主要是从伊拉克和阿富汗部署地）返回的受伤战士的发病负担及未来医疗服务需求。
提取从战斗部署返回的现役士兵中诊断为NIHI或与爆炸相关合并症（如显著阈值偏移[STS]、噪声性听力损失、耳鸣、感音神经性听力损失、鼓膜穿孔、轻度创伤性脑损伤和创伤后应激障碍）的住院和门诊记录。记录限于2003年4月至2009年6月士兵返回日期后的6个月内。为考虑STS编码实践的变化，2006年10月1日后观察到的STS发生率用于推断部署后先前可能的STS。
耳鸣、头晕、鼓膜穿孔和言语障碍有统计学显著增加。观察到的和推断出的STS相结合得出保守估计为27427例。
这些估计可用于预测退伍军人听力服务的资源需求。本文可作为该人群资源配置及创新预防措施和治疗方法的指南。提供的数据也可作为评估预防措施的基线。
