CREARE LLC — Department of Defense SBIR Phase II: DHA18-001

Description

The nature of military operations leads to high noise levels, exposing personnel to the possibility of noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). Individual hearing monitoring is conducted yearly, which can only provide a record of the progression of irreversible hearing loss with limited options for intervention and mitigation. Furthermore, there is limited data that links actual, real-world noise exposure to NIHL, making it very difficult to develop evidence-based damage risk criteria. Creare is developing a novel device that (1) provides hearing protection during activities in noisy environments; (2) records personal noise dose; and (3) monitors hearing function over time. Our integrated in-ear hearing monitoring and protection device will eventually allow users to monitor the potential impact of auditory insults as close to the injury as is possible, and eventually enable real-time intervention such as pharmaceuticals to mitigate pre-clinical hearing damage and prevent NIHL. In this Phase II Enhancement SBIR we will build on the successes of our Phase II to improve the performance of our prototype and build molded devices ready for use in human studies in military settings