Congressional Hearing Health Caucus Revived
After a six-year absence, the Congressional Hearing Health Caucus is being reestablished on Capitol Hill. In an effort led by U.S. Reps. Tom Latham (R-IA) and Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY), and the support of various organizations within the hearing health community—including the AAO-HNS—work is underway to rebuild membership in the previously inactive caucus. In February, the AAO-HNS and nine additional organizations hosted a joint kick-off event on Capitol Hill designed to officially announce the renewed Caucus activity. During the luncheon event, Reps. Latham and McCarthy discussed the importance of hearing healthcare and their dedication to establishing a bipartisan forum to address the broad spectrum of issues associated with appropriate hearing healthcare. In addition, invited guests Lucille Beck, PhD, and Mark D. Packer, MD, spoke to the event’s theme, “How the military and Veterans Administration (VA) are handling the surge in hearing loss/tinnitus cases related to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.” Since the onset of military activity in Afghanistan and Iraq, the incidence of hearing loss and/or tinnitus cases has grown exponentially for the nation’s servicemen and women. In an effort to appropriately address this growing trend, the VA and military have been working in earnest to establish programs to adequately document service-connected hearing injuries and provide the care necessary to mitigate the repercussions of hearing-related injuries. Drs. Beck and Packer are on the frontlines of the aforementioned efforts. As the chief consultant for the Office of Rehabilitation Services and the director of the Audiology and Speech Language Pathology Program at the VA’s Office of Patient Care Services, Dr. Beck’s responsibilities include oversight and direction for the Audiology and Speech Pathology Service (ASPS), Blind Rehabilitation Service, Physical Medicine, and the Rehabilitation Service, and Polytrauma and Recreation Therapy Service. Dr. Packer is an Air Force neurotologist, recently appointed as the interim director of the Congressionally mandated Hearing Center of Excellence (HCE). The HCE was established to specifically address prevention, diagnosis, mitigation, treatment, and rehabilitation of hearing loss and auditory system injury for the U.S. Department of Defense and the VA. More information about the HCE can be found at http://hearing.health.mil. The AAO-HNS hopes the caucus kick-off event will be the first of many successful activities on Capitol Hill that highlight the importance of robust programs to promote and protect hearing health. For more information about the Academy’s legislative priorities and/or activities on Capitol Hill, email the AAO-HNS Government Affairs team at legfederal@entnet.org.
After a six-year absence, the Congressional Hearing Health Caucus is being reestablished on Capitol Hill. In an effort led by U.S. Reps. Tom Latham (R-IA) and Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY), and the support of various organizations within the hearing health community—including the AAO-HNS—work is underway to rebuild membership in the previously inactive caucus.
In February, the AAO-HNS and nine additional organizations hosted a joint kick-off event on Capitol Hill designed to officially announce the renewed Caucus activity. During the luncheon event, Reps. Latham and McCarthy discussed the importance of hearing healthcare and their dedication to establishing a bipartisan forum to address the broad spectrum of issues associated with appropriate hearing healthcare. In addition, invited guests Lucille Beck, PhD, and Mark D. Packer, MD, spoke to the event’s theme, “How the military and Veterans Administration (VA) are handling the surge in hearing loss/tinnitus cases related to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.”
Since the onset of military activity in Afghanistan and Iraq, the incidence of hearing loss and/or tinnitus cases has grown exponentially for the nation’s servicemen and women. In an effort to appropriately address this growing trend, the VA and military have been working in earnest to establish programs to adequately document service-connected hearing injuries and provide the care necessary to mitigate the repercussions of hearing-related injuries.
Drs. Beck and Packer are on the frontlines of the aforementioned efforts. As the chief consultant for the Office of Rehabilitation Services and the director of the Audiology and Speech Language Pathology Program at the VA’s Office of Patient Care Services, Dr. Beck’s responsibilities include oversight and direction for the Audiology and Speech Pathology Service (ASPS), Blind Rehabilitation Service, Physical Medicine, and the Rehabilitation Service, and Polytrauma and Recreation Therapy Service. Dr. Packer is an Air Force neurotologist, recently appointed as the interim director of the Congressionally mandated Hearing Center of Excellence (HCE). The HCE was established to specifically address prevention, diagnosis, mitigation, treatment, and rehabilitation of hearing loss and auditory system injury for the U.S. Department of Defense and the VA. More information about the HCE can be found at http://hearing.health.mil.
The AAO-HNS hopes the caucus kick-off event will be the first of many successful activities on Capitol Hill that highlight the importance of robust programs to promote and protect hearing health. For more information about the Academy’s legislative priorities and/or activities on Capitol Hill, email the AAO-HNS Government Affairs team at legfederal@entnet.org.