ThisDudesArmy gave a personal response to a recent VA report saying that hearing loss (the "silent epidemic"), is the number one disability in the War on Terror. The report said at least 70,000 vets are on disability for having tinnitus--the "ringing in the ears" sort of hearing loss commonly associated with rockers such as Pete Townshend. Here's what ThisDudesArmy had to say:
Perhaps very recently they've started to evaluate hearing more
closely, but when I returned from Iraq six months ago, we sat down for
a simple hearing test like the one we did before we deployed. My
roommate already was legally deaf in one ear and wasn't supposed to
deploy, but he did anyway. He was on a patrol when an IED targeting
dismounts went off right next to him, sending him sprawling to the
ground with a concussion. He sat out for a few weeks to recover.
Back in the states, hearing in his bad ear was even worse than
when he left. The only compensation, he was told, was free hearing aids
for life.
The rest of us weren't lucky enough to receive that kind of
slap in the face. Tests that showed degenerated hearing were looked at
with suspicion and doubt, as if we had overstated our problems.
He then posts a video to illustrate the kind of noise troops are dealing with. The guns firing along with him are two M16's and a SAW (Squad Automatic Weapon).
More from the blogger:
I had a trick where I covered my ear with my right index finger when
my rifle was resting on the ledge. This did little but was far better
than the cumbersome foam earplugs we were given.
It's too little, too late for those of us who were already
given our hearing to the wars. I'm now in a customer service job where
I answer the phone constantly, and I can't use my left ear with the
receiver.
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