Medical-Legal Evaluation of Hearing Loss

Robert A. Dobie, MD, is clinical professor of otolaryngology at both the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA) and the University of California, Davis, as well as partner in Dobie Associates, providing consultation in hearing, balance, hearing conservation, and ear disorders. After medical school and residency training at Stanford University, Dr. Dobie completed fellowships in auditory physiology and otoneurosurgery. His previous positions included professor at the University of Washington, department chair at UTHSCA and director of extramural research at the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, National Institutes of Health. He is past president of the Association for Research in Otolaryngology, past chair of the Hearing and Equilibrium Committee of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, and has served on the boards and councils of many other professional organizations and scholarly journals. Dr. Dobie's research interests include age-related and noise-induced hearing loss, hearing conservation, and tinnitus, and he is the author of more than 200 publications.

Chapter 1. Introduction and Overview, Robert A. DobieChapter 2. Acoustics, Robert A. DobieChapter 3. The Ear and Hearing Tests, Robert A. DobieChapter 4. Audiologic Evaluation for Exaggerated Hearing Loss, Jack M. Snyder (updated by Robert A. Dobie)Chapter 5. Impairment, Handicap, and Disability, Robert A. DobieChapter 6. Age-Related Hearing Loss, Robert A. DobieChapter 7. Noise-Induced Hearing Loss and Acoustic Trauma,Robert A. DobieChapter 8. Nonoccupational NIHL, Robert A. DobieChapter 9. The Evolution of Hearing Conservation Programs, Dennis P. DriscollChapter 10. Other Otologic Disorders, Robert A. DobieChapter 11. Legal Remedies for Hearing Loss,Thomas R. JayneChapter 12. Otologic Evaluation, Robert A. DobieChapter 13. Diagnosis and Allocation, Robert A. DobieChapter 14. Reporting,Robert A. DobieChapter 15. The Expert Witness,Thomas R. JayneAppendix A. Typical Noise Levels/ExposuresAppendix B. Workers' Compensation Practices in the United States and CanadaAppendix C. List of Abbreviations