Improving the Hearing Health of First Responders

Resilience Toolbox interviewed Suhrud Rajguru, Ph.D., the Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of RestorEar Devices, who is a Professor at the University of Miami. We spoke about the challenges faced by first responders frequently exposed to high levels of noise on the job, and the tools available to support their hearing health. Dr. Rajguru's team created the first FDA-registered and research-backed hearing health device called ReBound by RestorEar, designed to minimize hearing damage after exposure to loud noises.

 

Dr Rajguru continues:

For several years, The University of Miami has been working through the Firefighter Cancer Initiative with fire departments across Florida, specifically several fire departments in South Florida. We started thinking about how we could take the partnership the University of Miami has built with the fire service to address the challenges of hearing loss and balance dysfunction that occurs in firefighters due to the noise exposure they get while performing their duties.

 All of us should be concerned about hearing health. Hearing loss has been associated with neurocognitive decline and Alzheimer's dementia.  Given the nature of the jobs first responders perform, they are exposed to loud noises from alarms, engines, sirens, water pumps, chainsaws, etc.  This can be quite extreme and can create damage to the hearing organs in the inner ear very early on. Often those damages go undiagnosed and undetected and can have long-term hearing and health consequences. Given the critical nature of the jobs that firefighters and first responders perform, it’s important that we protect their hearing health early on because we want to help them have healthy long-term outcomes.

One of the challenges with hearing loss is protection versus prevention. We should protect our hearing when possible. We can wear ear plugs or over-the-ear devices to reduce and mitigate loud noises from affecting our inner ears and causing that initial damage or trauma. But we know there are challenges with that, especially in the first responder job, where situational awareness is key. Given the unique needs of first responders, hearing protection may only be feasible some of the time.

At RestorEar we started thinking about prevention: how do we prevent acute damages that are occurring as we get exposed on the job? How does that lead to the prevention of long-term health consequences?

We all know whenever we have an injury, the first thing we do is apply ice to reduce inflammation and provide a little bit of cooling. How do we provide that cooling for our hearing? This led us to build RestorEar based on decades of research about mild therapeutic hypothermia (cooling) to reduce the inflammation and damage associated with loud noise exposures.

Working collaboratively with first responders and the general community led us to think about how we can use this therapy. The moment after you’ve had noise exposure, RestorEar’s Rebound is designed to deliver mild hypothermia therapy to reduce the inflammation and hence prevent acute damage, which then helps with long-term damage and consequences.

The hearing and balance of first responders are priceless, however, their exposure to extremely noisy environments makes them susceptible to hearing loss and balance dysfunction. Fortunately, tools have been developed to combat these challenges. Our team is committed to protecting the hearing health of fire service members and first responders and is eager to collaborate with them.

BIO:

Suhrud Rajguru, Ph.D., is a Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Otolaryngology at the University of Miami and a co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of RestorEar Devices, LLC. He completed his undergraduate studies in Mumbai, India prior to pursuing doctoral studies at the University of Utah. Suhrud's research foci are on the investigations of pathophysiology, the diagnosis and treatment of various hearing and balance disorders. An educator, scientist and entrepreneur, he is an author of numerous peer-reviewed publications and is a named inventor on issued and pending patent applications. His research is supported by the National Institutes of Health and industry partners and he is actively involved in the education and mentoring of undergraduate and graduate students. He leads the University of Miami's I-Corps@NCATS program supported by NCATS. He is co-director of the Institute for Neural Engineering at the University of Miami and Director of the Workforce Development program at the Miami CTSI. Recently he was awarded the Merit Grant by Veterans Administration and he’s been appointed as a Health Research Scientist at Miami VA. https://restorear.com/

 

Step into the world of RESPONDER RESILIENCE, an insightful podcast that sheds light on the challenges and triumphs of firefighters, EMTs, dispatchers, and law enforcement professionals. Hear firsthand accounts from our community's finest as they discuss critical issues on the job and share their experiences with hosts Lt. David Dachinger (ret.), Bonnie Rumilly LCSW/EMT and Dr. Stacy Raymond. Explore topics of mental and physical wellness with emergency services thought leaders, and get ready to be inspired and gain a deeper appreciation for their sacrifices and resilience.

Copyright Notice: The materials provided on this web-based article are copyrighted and the intellectual property of the publishers/producers (The NY Cancer Resource Alliance/IntermediaWorx inc. and The AngioFoundation). It is provided publicly strictly for informational purposes within non-commercial use and not for purposes of resale, distribution, public display or performance. Unless otherwise indicated on this web based page, sharing, re-posting, re-publishing of this work is strictly prohibited without due permission from the publishers.  Also, certain content may be licensed from third-parties. The licenses for some of this Content may contain additional terms. When such Content licenses contain additional terms, we will make these terms available to you on those pages (which his incorporated herein by reference).The publishers/producers of this site and its contents such as videos, graphics, text, and other materials published are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. For any questions you may have regarding a medical condition, please always seek the advice of your physician or a qualified health provider. Do not postpone or disregard any professional medical advice over something you may have seen or read on this website. If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor or 9-1-1 immediately.  This website does not support, endorse or recommend any specific products, tests, physicians, procedures, treatment opinions or other information that may be mentioned on this site. Referencing any content or information seen or published in this website or shared by other visitors of this website is solely at your own risk. The publishers/producers of this Internet web site reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to modify, disable access to, or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, all or any part of this Internet web site or any information contained thereon without liability or notice to you.