Full Metal Racket: The No. 1 disability among vets is not PTSD.

[KamaAina]

https://newrepublic.com/article/135754/full-metal-racket

William Milzarski was 40 years old when he ​finished his infantry training. His two sons had enlisted, and he felt a midlife crisis coming on. “It was either enlist, or buy a red convertible,” he says. Shipped off to Afghanistan, Lt. Milzarski led his platoon into 244 combat missions, until a bullet ricocheted off a rock during a firefight and hit him in the face. He stayed with his troops, wounded and bloody, until the battle was over. Then, seven months later, he rotated home.

The wound healed, the scar covered by the stubble of his beard. It was another three years, however, before he realized that the distance he felt from everyone and everything was not simply a symptom of PTSD. He was also going deaf—his hearing yet another casualty of war....

Today, the Department of Veterans Affairs ranks hearing loss as the number one disability among vets. At least 60 percent of those returning from Iraq and Afghanistan—some 600,000 vets—suffer permanent hearing loss or tinnitus, a chronic ringing in the ears. It’s also the fastest-growing of all postwar disabilities, more than doubling over the past decade, and among the most costly in terms of lost productivity. Lose your hearing and you’re more likely to lose your job, suffer from high stress, or experience social anxiety, depression, and early-onset dementia. And though it can be treated, there is no cure....

The nature of warfare makes it difficult to protect troops from noise. Sudden blasts tend to do more damage to the eardrum than a constant hum—and loud blasts are a central element of today’s ambush style of warfare. Current combat helmets don’t protect ears from loud blasts, unfortunately. And they can also muffle a soldier’s hearing, making it harder to locate and evade threats.

This could be a gamechanger, like in WWI, when all the newly blinded vets returning home gave rise to the system of vocational rehabilitation we have today.

[NCTraveler]

1. Tinnitus really stinks.

There are times when I can't find peace.

[jonno99]

2. I can attest to this (guns are loud!). nt

[Lee-Lee]

3. Indeed- my tinnitus is so bad the VA rated it 10%

I can't sleep without some sort of background noise like a fan going.

[HDSam]

4. And tinnitus service-connected compensation

regardless of it's severity is capped at 10% by the VA.

[Mosby]

5. does the military issue ear plugs?

I rode a MC for decades, I always used those foam plugs.

[linuxman]

6. Yes, Universally. They're everywhere.

One problem: Do I keep in the plugs and protect my hearing on the off chance something goes boom, or keep them in and not be able to hear commands, warnings, or subtle noises indicating I'm about to be attacked?

Electronic earpro would be nice. It feeds outside noise into the ear though a speaker in the headphone, but cuts off over a certain decibel threshold. Expensive and failure prone, though.

[Unit 001]

9. You don't wear earplugs in combat.

How nice for you to be so safety conscious when riding your bike.

[hack89]

12. Wearing ear plugs in combat is a good way to get killed.

you need all your senses to detect threats. For example, you can hear an incoming artillery shell and take cover before it hits.

[Thirties Child]

7. I was 15, riding in a car with kids, a shotgun within inches of my head, went off, all by itself.

A shotgun blast in a closed car is LOUD. I was lucky I wasn't killed. I've had tinnitus so long--66 years--I long ago stopped paying attention to it. I'd probably wonder why it was quiet if it went away.

[OnDoutside]

8. Ireland's soldiers are way ahead of you ;) See here ->

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_Army_deafness_claims

The army deafness claims were a series of personal injury claims taken from 1992 to 2002 against the Department of Defence by members of the Irish Defence Forces for noise-induced hearing loss resulting from exposure to loud noise during military operations and training. The claims stated that the government had failed to provide adequate ear protectors during firing exercises, as was required under regulations dating back to the 1950s. About 16,500 claims were made, resulting in payouts totalling about €300m.

Background

From 1952, army regulations required the use of ear protection on shooting ranges and in artillery drill.[4][5] Initially, cotton wool was recommended; in 1961, cotton wool moistened with Vaseline; and from 1972 plastic Sonex earplugs were provided.[4][5] In 1987 a comprehensive regime of protection was introduced with modern protection and safety protocols.[4][5] Some plaintiffs alleged they had used cigarette butts as ear protection.[6][7] The government in 1998 alleged that all soldiers had been issued from 1952 with protection in conformity to best practice of the time, although the level of protection provided was later recognised as inadequate;[4] that the decision on whether to avail of earplugs was left to the discretion of the soldier rather than being commanded by a superior;[4] and that claims brought by plaintiffs that they had never been issued with protection could not be disproven as there were no specific records kept for earplugs issued to each soldier.[

[AwakeAtLast]

11. My husband lost 30% in one blast.

Automatic 10% disability coverage. No increase for the tinitus, though.

Next up will be claims for his knees (he's 38) and sleep apnea.