HCE fosters and promotes the prevention, diagnosis, mitigation, treatment, rehabilitation and research of hearing loss and auditory injury among warriors and veterans. Whether they are exposed to noise in combat, in their day-to-day military duties, or during off-duty routine activities, noise-induced hearing loss presents a constant threat to our service members’ quality of life, including their
ability to support their mission and actively engage with their families. With this in mind, the Department of Defense (DOD) established the HCE to focus on the prevention, diagnosis, mitigation, treatment and rehabilitation of hearing loss and auditory system injury. The HCE was legislated by Congress in the FY 2009 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and directed to partner with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), institutions of higher education and other applicable public and private entities. The HCE’s primary responsibilities include:
- Developing a data registry to track hearing loss and auditory system injuries across the armed forces, and sharing such registry data with the VA.
- Encouraging and facilitating the conduct of research.
- Developing best practices and clinical education.
- Ensuring the coordination and delivery of VA rehabilitation benefits and services to former service members
