The men and women who serve our country in uniform too frequently endure incapacitating mental, physical, and emotional difficulties after their service is finished. Within the continuing dialogue about veteran’s healthcare, the most frequently diagnosed disability is often relatively ignored: Tinnitus and hearing loss.
Veterans are 30% more likely than civilians to deal with significant hearing impairment, even when occupation and age are taken into account. Hearing loss, related to military service, has been documented at least back to World War 2, but it’s a lot more prevalent in veterans who have served more recently. Recent veterans, who are also, on average, among the youngest former service members, are four times more likely than non-veterans to suffer from severe hearing impairment.
Why Are Service Personnel at Greater Risk For Hearing Loss?
The answer is simple: Noise exposure. Sure, some occupations are noisier than others. As an example, a librarian will be working in a relatively quiet setting. Thet would most likely be exposed to volumes ranging from a whisper (around 30 dB) to average conversation (60 dB).
For civilians who are at the other end of the sonic spectrum, such as an urban construction worker, the danger increases. Background noises you would periodically hear, such as the siren of an emergency vehicle (120dB), or continuously, like heavy city traffic, are harmful to your hearing. Sounds louder than 85dB (from power tools to heavy equipment) are common on construction sites according to research.
As loud as a heavy construction site is, active military personnel are regularly subjected to much louder sounds. This is certainly true in combat areas, where troops hear noises like gunfire (150 dB), hand grenades (158 dBA), and artillery (180 dB). But military bases, whether overseas or at home, are not very quiet either. Indoor engine rooms are very loud and the deck of an aircraft carrier can be as loud as 130 – 160 dB. For pilots, noise levels are high as well, with helicopters being well over 100 dB and jets and other planes also being well over 100 dB. Another concern: Certain jet fuels, according to one study, interrupt the auditory process causing hearing impairment.
And as a 2015 study of hearing loss among military personnel adeptly shows, for the men and women who serve our country, it’s not a choice, it’s a duty. They need to contend with noise exposure in order to complete missions and even day-to-day activities. And even the best performing, standard issue, hearing protection often isn’t enough to protect against some of these noises.
How Can Veterans Deal With Hearing Loss?
Though hearing loss due to noise exposure is permanent, the impairment can be eased with hearing aids. The loss of high-frequency sound is the most common kind of hearing impairment among veterans and this type of impairment can be treated with specialized hearing aids. Tinnitus is often a symptom of another health issue and though it can’t be cured, there are also treatment options for it.
In serving our country, veterans have already made many sacrifices. They shouldn’t have to sacrifice their hearing too.
