Hearing Therapies for the Future

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This proposal requests funding for a conference titled '' to be held September 26th - 28th 2007 in Portland, Oregon. This will be the third in a series of biennial conferences hosted by the National Center of Rehabilitative Auditory Research (NCRAR). The conference objective is to expand understanding and facilitate effective treatment of noise induced hearing loss (NIHL). To this end, conference sessions will combine varied formats to stimulate learning, discussion and information dissemination among leading scientists in the field of prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of NIHL, and audiologists who will gain knowledge that is directly applicable to their clinical practice. NIHL is a preventable cause of hearing loss that affects Americans of all ages. Exposure to noise is to blame for the hearing loss of about 10 million of the 28 million Americans with hearing impairment. The risk of NIHL among our nation's younger generations is increasing which is especially troubling in view of evidence that early exposure to noise increases the incidence and progression of age-related hearing loss. Thus, this conference has potential to benefit all Americans. More specifically, the conference will address current understanding of NIHL from cellular, molecular, and clinical perspectives. There will be a keynote address given by a hearing impaired individual who is a well-known scientist in the fields of auditory neuroscience and cochlear physiology. He will present an informal overview of research needs from the perspective of an educated consumer. There will be four main conference sessions. At each session, two or three renowned researchers in the field of NIHL will each give 30-45 minute invited presentations. Following the presentations there will be roundtable discussion panels among researchers, experienced clinical audiologists and invited lay persons with hearing impairment. Finally there will be a poster session for posters presented by scholarship winners and by individuals whose submitted posters meet the peer review criteria for acceptance. The target audience is clinical audiologists, however in past years researchers, medical personnel and students have also attended the NCRAR conferences. Up to 8 scholarships will be awarded to practicing clinicians that will cover the cost of conference attendance. The meeting will be publicized via e-mailing lists from national and local organizations and through audiology training programs. Conference proceedings will be published in the journal 'Seminars in Hearing'. The NCRAR hosted highly successful conferences in 2003 and 2005 using the same format and locations as this proposed meeting. Audience ratings from those meetings show that over 80% of participants found the content, format, speakers and location to be extremely favorable. Public Health Relevance Statement Noise induced hearing loss is a preventable cause of hearing loss that affects Americans of all ages, including growing numbers of our young people. Exposure to noise is to blame for the permanent hearing loss of roughly 10 million of the 28 million Americans with hearing impairment. The high risk of NIHL among our nation's younger generations is especially troubling since exposure to noise appears to increase the prevalence and severity of age-related hearing loss which afflicts just under half (40- 45%) of the U.S. population over the age of 65 years, and most (83%) individuals over the age of 70 years. By targeting NIHL, therefore, this conference has potential to benefit all Americans.