WRNMMC, Bethesda, MD  –   World Hearing Day is observed annually on March 3 and this year’s theme was “Ear and Hearing Care for All.”

Although World Hearing Day is observed just one day during the year, the Audiology and Speech Pathology Center at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC) focuses on preserving and improving the health and quality of life for Military Health System (MHS) beneficiaries nearly every day of the year.

Because of their mission, many military service members have a greater risk for hearing loss than civilians. The Audiology and Speech Pathology Center at WRNMMC provides world-class research, education and care in the areas of hearing and balance; voice and swallowing; speech and language; advanced technologies and prosthetic devices; auditory processing and cognitive communication. Services include audiology; speech language and pathology; and scientific and clinical studies.

A research project by an audiologist at WRNMMC recently received top honors in the 2022 MHS Research Symposium: Young Investigators Competition. Rebecca Bieber, Au.D., Ph.D., focused her research on “Evaluating the Impacts of Hearing Protection on Fire Team Lethality, Survivability, Communication, and Mission Success in Dismounted Combat.” Her work collected new data by evaluating and monitoring diverse types of exercises with various hearing protections, which can help lead to better hearing protection on the battlefield.

Hearing loss, the second most common disability in the United States, is under-diagnosed and under-treated, and identifying it in early stages could prevent its known substantial adverse outcomes, according to a study published by the National Institutes of Health. More than 60 percent of hearing loss issues can be identified and addressed in primary care settings, to health care providers added.

For more information about WRNMMC’s Audiology and Speech Pathology Center, visit walterreed.tricare.mil/Health-Services/Specialty-Care/Audiology-Speech-Pathology, and for information concerning World Hearing Day on social media, search #WorldHearingDay and #HearingHealth.