United States Department of Veterans Affairs
NCRAR

Marilyn Dille, Ph.D.

Telephone:  503-220-8262, ext. 56428
E-Mail:  marilyn.dille@va.gov 

Current appointments
Investigator, NCRAR
Research Assistant Professor, Dept of Otolaryngology/HNS, Oregon Health and Science University

Overview
Prior to joining NCRAR in 2007, Dr. Dille was a clinical audiologist at the Seattle VA Medical Center and, on completion of her PhD from the University of Washington, taught in the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences at the University of Washington and at the University of Arizona. Her research interests center on the implications of disease and treatment of certain cancers on auditory system function. In addition, she is interested in the aging processes that result in changes in hearing. She is currently PI and Co-PI on three VA RR&D grants in collaboration with Drs. Konrad-Martin and Gallun. One grant is designed to validate the use of an ototoxicity risk assessment combining otoacoustic emission measures of amplitude and phase with cisplatin cumulative dose. On completion of this grant, this risk assessment will generate a highly accurate risk score for hearing shift at each treatment interval. A second grant will explore longitudinal changes in the auditory system, peripherally as well as centrally, resulting from poorly controlled type 2 diabetes. Finally, the third (pilot) grant explores auditory working memory changes with aging and hearing impairment. Limitations in auditory working memory may account for some of the difficulties older listeners, particularly those with hearing impairment, have in noisy situations. 

Research Interests
Age-related changes in the auditory system, ototoxicity, diabetes and auditory system function, objective measures of hearing (evoked potentials and OAE measures), measures of auditory memory, effects of aural rehabilitation on central processes, disorders of memory.

Research Projects

  • Individualized objective techniques for early detection of ototoxicity. VA RR&D Merit Review grant 7/2010-6/2013.
  • Effects of aging and hearing loss during rapid sound processing. VA RR&D Merit Review Pilot grant 1/2011-12/2012.
  • Longitudinal changes in auditory function among Veterans with diabetes. VA RR&D Merit Review grant 1/2011-12/2015.

Selected Publications and Presentations:
Dille MF, Konrad-Martin D, Gallun FJ, Henry JA, Phillips DA, Helt WJ, Gordon JS, Reavis KM, Bratt GW, Fausti SA. (2010) Tinnitus onset rates from chemotherapeutic agents and ototoxic antibiotics: Results of a large prospective study. J Amer Acad Audiol, Vol 21:6, 409-417.

Dille MF, McMillan GM, Reavis KM, Jacobs P, Fausti SF, Konrad Martin, D. Ototoxicity risk assessment (ORA) combining distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE) with a cisplatin dose model. (2010) J Acoust Soc Amer 128(3), 1163-1174.

Ellingson R and Dille M. Dynamic range consideration when designing PC sound card based audiometric systems to test human hearing. (2010) Proceedings of the 32nd Annual International Conference of the IEEE EMBS, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Aug 31-Sept 4.

Wilmington DJ, Konrad-Martin D, Helt WJ, Dille MF, Gordon JS. Fausti SA. Ototoxicity Monitoring program approaches and considerations. (2011) Seminars in Hearing (in press).

Konrad-Martin D, Dille MF, McMillan G, Griest S, McDermott D, Fausti SA, Austin DF.  Age-related change in the auditory brainstem response. (2011) J Amer Acad Audiol (in press).

Gallun FJ, Dille M, Diedesch A, Billings C. Human auditory memory for intensity. 32nd Midwinter Meeting, Association for Research in Otolaryngology, Baltimore, MD, February 14-19, 2009 

Dille MF, Konrad Martin D, Jacobs P, McMillan GM, and Fausti SA. Using DPOAE Magnitude and Phase in the Early Detection of Ototoxicity. Amer. Aud. Soc. Meeting. Scottsdale, AZ.  March 5-7, 2009

Dille MF, McMillan GM, Ellingson RM, Fausti SA, Konrad Martin D. Comparison of Objective Measures for the Early Detection of Ototoxicity. Amer. Aud. Soc. Meeting. Scottsdale, AZ.  March 4-6, 2010.