PP1602 - Audiologic Case Studies in Patients with Lightening Strikes

Abstract:
People that experience a lightning strike injury often do not survive their injuries. When they do, they often experience a wide range of health issues, including auditory and vestibular issues. This poster will highlight a number of cases of people who have survived lightning strikes and their audiologic needs. General medical aspects will be briefly discussed. An overview of hearing and balance issues will be presented. Diagnosis and treatment approaches will be addressed. The role of the audiologist in working with this population and being part of an interdisciplinary team will be highlighted.

Summary:
Lightning strikes are a unique issue and, although rare, people who survive have a broad range of long-term healthcare issues. Hearing and balance issues are common in this population but are often overlooked due to the range of problems present following the accident. Patients often describe quality of life issues that include hearing loss, auditory processing issues, tinnitus, and vestibular issues. Clearly, audiology has a significant role in the assessment and treatment of these issues, as part of the interdisciplinary care provided to this patient population.

This poster will discuss the general medical aspects of these patients that are documented in the literature, including traumatic brain injury and autonomic nervous system dysfunction and how these impact the person who has experienced a lightning strike. There is minimal literature on the hearing and balance issues post-lightning strike, since many patients who have experienced this have ongoing audiologic concerns that are never addressed. Current research and anecdotal information from healthcare providers working with this population will be reviewed in the poster.

The primary information in the poster will focus on 3-4 patients who have experienced a lightning strike and have sought audiologic services. Although these patients have a range of hearing care issues, common issues will be addressed and highlighted. Hearing and vestibular concerns will be described, and assessment considerations will be presented. Developing a treatment plan that acknowledges and addresses communication needs in the context of interdisciplinary care will be described.

This is a unique patient population that needs and wants the services of audiologists and provides us the ability to work on a patient care team that addresses needs resulting from the lightning strike. Additionally, this population can provide insight into other types of patient concerns, such as those with tinnitus and/or traumatic brain injury.

As noted, there is generally a limited body of research on people that have had a lightning strike and certainly even more limited in the areas of hearing and balance. This poster provides an opportunity to introduce this information to the profession and to increase awareness of this small but significant population among audiologists. The cases are compelling to demonstrate the need for audiology services. It is hoped that this presentation will provide a foundation for both future research in this area and an expansion of clinical services to this population that will both enhance quality of life and communication.