Military health system auditory blast injury prevention standard

The Department of Defense (DoD) lacks a single medical standard for prevention of auditory blast injury, relying on the Service Branches to develop their own guidance. The DoD Executive Agent established the Blast Injury Prevention Standards Recommendation (BIPSR) process, led by the DoD Blast Injury Research Coordinating Office (BIRCO), to investigate the effects of blast injuries on warfighters. The BIPSR Process implementation of the Auditory Blast Injury Type illuminated characteristics, capabilities, and limitations of current capabilities to predict and prevent auditory injuries. The evaluation resulted in the recommendation of 8-h Equivalent Level (LAeq8hr) as the interim MHS Auditory Blast Injury Prevention Standard to serve as the cross-Service standard while the community performs additional research to fill critical knowledge gaps. BIRCO is working to formalize the Military Health System Auditory Blast Injury Prevention standard to support updates and coordination across DoD guidance including military design standards and health protection policies.