Hear what military audiologists are saying about hearing loss and YOUR hearing health

As part of our Serve & Protect campaign, we asked a few military audiologists to share their thoughts on hearing loss and YOUR hearing health. Here is what they had to say: 

“What many people do not realize is that overexposure to many daily noisy activities could possibly cause similar damage to what a service member may suffer from combat experience! As an audiologist working with our nation's veterans, I fully support educating the public about hearing loss and the role of audiologists in that effort.” 

-Evelyn Gong, AuD | Chief of Audiology, VA Medical Center, Prescott, Arizona 
 

“Sixty years ago, the field of Audiology was originally ‘born’ in military hospitals, to provide critically-needed services for noise-exposed soldiers.  Since then, audiologists have become recognized as the principal experts in preventing hearing loss among our men and women in uniform, and clinical audiology services are now an integral part of military health care.  Similarly, ALL Americans should seek expert audiology care when making decisions about their hearing health.”  

-Richard W. Danielson, Ph.D. | Colonel, US Army (Retired); former director of Army Audiology and Speech Center at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington D.C.

“The general public deserves the same level of health care as those who serve the government, and this includes audiology care.  Through consumer awareness campaigns like ‘Serve and Protect,’ individuals can better understand the truth about hearing health and balance care as well as the best options for treatment.  Audiologists are THE hearing experts, and are best served to educate and treat individuals suffering from hearing loss.”

-Donald Welch, AuD | Staff Audiologist, VA Health Care, El Paso, Texas