Military-Specific Tinnitus management and Aural Rehabilitation Therapy (M-START)

Military personnel are often exposed to high-intensity noises of various types and as a result, some develop hearing loss, tinnitus, or both. To date, there is no standard treatment for tinnitus but sound-based therapies have proven to be promising. Hearing loss is most often treated with hearing aids but rarely is the treatment accompanied by aural rehabilitation therapy to facilitate effective use of the device. Military personnel are at a bigger disadvantage due to their limited access to specialized care when deployed. Intelligent Automation, Inc. proposes to develop the Military-Specific Tinnitus management and Aural Rehabilitation Therapy (M-START) application. M-START will be a mobile, web-based application that guides military through an adaptive, self-guided, individualized processes of aural rehabilitation therapy and/or tinnitus management. The instructional material, assessments and exercises will be enhanced by realistic auditory scenarios using military-specific sounds and voice commands. M-START will utilize standard hearing and tinnitus evaluation instruments to customize the experience, incorporating best practices, and guiding patients through evaluation of outcomes. This patient-centric application will not diagnose hearing injuries or provide explicit treatment, but will facilitate self-management and awareness by educating people about their hearing difficulties and the various devices and strategies that may help them.