Feasibility of Assessing the Effects of Substance Use on Auditory and Vestibular Function
Led by Dr. Amanda Rodriguez & Dr. Michelle HughesUniversity of Nebraska-Lincoln
Co-Investigator:
Kenneth Zoucha, MD, University of Nebraska Medical Center Assistant Professor Psychiatry Director-Division of Addiction Medicine
Study Overview:
This pilot project aims to evaluate the feasibility of obtaining auditory and vestibular (balance) function outcomes in a substance-misuse population.
Specific Aims:
(Aim 1): To establish recruitment sources for participants who chronically misuse substances and are in different stages of use (i.e., active, recovery, relapsed).
(Aim 2): To determine the feasibility of implementing a comprehensive auditory and vestibular test battery for people who misuse substances.
Study Sample Population:
We seek to enroll a minimum of 30 adults with a substance use history. Participant groups will include people: (1) in the community with active substance use, (2) who are diagnosed with a substance use disorder and currently in treatment, and (3) who have relapsed after having active recovery either on their own or through a treatment program.
Unique Study Procedures:
This project will be the first to systematically assess both auditory and vestibular function within a substance use population using a comprehensive battery of physiological and behavioral metrics that assess both peripheral and central functions, so that site-of-lesions can be identified.
Long-Term Goals:
This project’s results will provide pilot data for a subsequent larger-scale study to characterize auditory and vestibular function in people who chronically use substances and determine how health and use factors might exacerbate hearing and vestibular loss. Results will reveal the magnitude of alcohol and drug-induced hearing or vestibular loss and justify the need for diagnostic monitoring for people seeking treatment for substance-use disorder. Furthermore, this work will inform specific rehabilitative strategies that could also be implemented through telehealth to better reach rural communities where social and economic impacts of untreated hearing or vestibular loss are compounded by other healthcare disparities.
Dr. Michelle HughesPROJECT Director
Michelle Hughes, PhD, CCC-A is an Associate Professor and Director of the Cochlear Implant Research Laboratory (CIRL) at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in the Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders. She received her MA in Audiology and PhD in Hearing Science from the University of Iowa, and completed her clinical fellowship in the Department of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. Research interests involve examining the relation between physiology and perception in cochlear implants, investigating ways to incorporate telepractice into cochlear implant service delivery, and exploring ototoxicity effects secondary to substance misuse.
Dr. Amanda RodriguezPROJECT Director
Amanda Rodriguez, AuD, PhD, CCC-A is an Assistant Professor and Director of the Concussion and Vestibular Evaluation (CAVE) Laboratory at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in the Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders. She is also a Resident Faculty member in the Center of Brain, Biology and Behavior. She received her AuD/PhD in Audiology and Vestibular Function-Assessment from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. She then completed a T32 post-doc fellowship at Boys Town National Research Hospital. Her research interests include examining the effects of sports concussion on the vestibular system and identifying modifiable health risk factors associated with vestibular loss. Dr. Rodriguez is also a practicing vestibular audiologist in the community.