I 112th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 4327 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES March 29, 2012 Mr. Michaud (for himself, Ms. Richardson, Mr. Roe of Tennessee, Mr. Jones, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, and Mr. McGovern) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 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.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Tinnitus Research and Treatment Act of 2012.

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— (1)an assessment of the efficacy of different tinnitus treatment modalities on different subsets of patients; (2)studies on the underlying etiology of tinnitus in veteran populations that occur as a result of different causal factors, including blast-related tinnitus versus other forms of noise-induced tinnitus; and (3)a study of the causal effects 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.