Mountain Home Hearing and Balance Research Program

Applied Hearing Science Laboratory

Dr. Schairer is co-PI with Dr. M. Patrick Feeney at NCRAR on a four-year Merit Review entitled “Comprehensive Wide Bandwidth Test Battery of Auditory Function in Veterans” (C1268-R). The goal of this research is to evaluate a test battery of new wideband tests of auditory function to differentially diagnose conductive, mixed, and sensorineural hearing loss and ultimately provide new, more efficient clinical guidelines to diagnose auditory function in Veterans. To date, data collection is completed and the researchers are working together to draft publications.

Vestibular/Balance Research Laboratory

Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV) is the most common cause of vestibular dysfunction, characterized by brief but disabling vertigo associated with specific head positions (e.g., looking up or rolling over in bed). BPPV can be treated effectively with a series of head positions used to move particles out of the semicircular canals.  Access to care for many patients with BPPV is poor because the treatment is underused or mis-used by frontline healthcare providers who are not trained to recognize and treat BPPV. To address this opportunity to improve patient care, Drs. Akin & Hall are working to test a hypothesis that a smartphone camera and inertial technology can be used to accurately diagnose and treat BPPV with the new study, "Development of a mobile medical app for diagnosis and treatment for benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV)."

Dr. Akin is completing a Merit Review on the "Effects of Noise Exposure on the Vestibular System" C1986-R. Preliminary research suggests that overstimulation from noise has the potential to cause temporary or lasting damage to the sensory hair cells in your cochlea within your inner ear. These cells help with hearing and when damaged, then hearing loss may occur.  However, little is understood of how noise impacts the other components of the vestibular system (responsible for your balance). This study is comparing two groups: one with noise induced hearing loss with occupational, recreational, and military noise exposure and one with normal hearing and no history of extensive noise exposure.  The purpose of Dr. Akin's work is to help understand mechanisms behind battle-related noise exposure and balance disorders that veterans may experience from their service and how this knowledge may help increase the quality of life for veterans with balance disorders.

Dr. Hall’s research is aimed at developing a vestibular rehabilitation therapy computer application that promotes health and balance in adults with complaints of dizziness. The app will have guided exercises for adults with balance impairments.  Within the application are gamified exercises that will challenge vestibular function through the use of on-screen interactive prompts.