1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Tinnitus Research and Treatment Act of 2013”.
Tinnitus Research and Treatment Act of 2013
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to recognize tinnitus as a mandatory condition for research and treatment by the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.
2. Recognition and treatment of tinnitus at Department of Veterans Affairs Auditory Centers of Excellence
The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall recognize tinnitus as a mandatory condition for research and treatment by the Department of Veterans Affairs Auditory Centers of Excellence.
3. Research on prevention and treatment of tinnitus
The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall ensure that research is conducted at Department of Veterans Affairs facilities on the prevention and treatment of tinnitus. Such research shall include—
an assessment of the efficacy of multidisciplinary tinnitus treatment modalities on different subsets of patients;
studies on the underlying etiology of tinnitus in veteran populations that occur as a result of different causal factors, including blast-related tinnitus where there is no measurable hearing loss versus other forms of noise-induced tinnitus where there is hearing loss; and
a study of the underlying mechanisms between hearing loss and tinnitus, including cases in which one or the other condition is present, but not both.
4. Interdepartmental cooperation
The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall ensure the cooperation of the Department of Veterans Affairs with the Hearing Center of Excellence established by the Department of Defense to further research on tinnitus.