Loss of hearing a sad fact among many soldiers today

Members of the marines and soldiers sent to Iraq or Afghanistan only to encounter roadside firing trysts and bombings come home in epidemic quantities with a huge problem known as hearing mutilation along with ringing in their ears so the military saw the need for shielding their men two times more. On the top of the disabilities caused by war on terror, to the Department of Veterans Affairs, is hearing damage and some experts state that the true toll would become clear only after decades or so. A soaring number of people on disability for hearing impairment reach up to about 58,000 while an even larger number, around 70,000 are the ones among the 1.3 million troops dispatched in these two war zones are discovered to suffer from tinnitus which is a potentially debilitating ringing in the ears and are claiming for this. Many are surprised by these soaring numbers. A startling explanation given is that the Pentagon never truly anticipated the fact that the rebels got to use very fearsome and powerful roadside bombs. Their blasts cause violent changes in air pressure that can rupture the eardrum and break bones inside the ear.

Most soldiers would not be given the chance to put on the military issued ear protection gears as most fights come suddenly and unexpectedly such as ambushes, firefights and bombings. They don't have the luxury of telling their opponents that they need to put on their ear gears first. In addition, some servicemen on patrol refuse to wear earplugs for fear of dulling their senses and missing sounds that can make the difference between life and death. It is sad that some, on the other hand, forgot to bring their earplugs before flying off to the war zone while the rest were simply not given any.

The terrorizing noises of the war remain in the memory and ears of a man who used to be a serviceman even after four years, where he was one of the victims of 3 simultaneous roadside bombs near the Baghdad district. He also finds it a bit funny how when the bomb exploded, he did not feel his leg blasted out, only this intense ringing in his two ears. This man states that his leg was blown off in the year 2003, leaving only his knee. Today his leg has been replaced with a prosthetic, but his ears are still ringing.

Sixty percent of men from the US that had been subjected to loud blasts suffer from permanent hearing loss, while a good 49 percent of them would be in tinnitus anguish as per the military audiology reports and findings. The hearing damage ranges from mild, such as an inability to hear whispers or low pitches, to severe, including total deafness or a constant loud ringing that destroys the ability to concentrate. Tinnitus or hearing loss has no known cure.

It is a fact that from World War II and well through the war in Vietnam, hearing damage has been a chief disability among many people. In spite of everything that has been learned through the long years, the Army troops are being tormented by hearing damage at about the rate as World War II vets, as per the figures of the VA. But then World War II cannot easily be compared to the one that transpired in Iraq. Looking at the fearsome and vast artillery barrages, bombing raids and epic tank battles which all happened under the time of the second world war, it is so evident that such war was waged to a large degree making it very exceptional.

As we face such fearsome weaponry being used today, it is a fact that even the best hearing protection tools are only effective partially and even after it is used the right way, too. Some Marines were issued a $7.40 pair of double sided earplugs, with one side designed to protect from weapons fire and explosions, the other from aircraft and tank noise. It is just so bad that the Marines were not given apt instructions in how to use the earplugs, so some wound end up cutting the things in half while others would use the wrong sides thus they end up virtually ineffective. But nowadays, instructions need to be handed out along with the earplugs.

Earplugs that are very high tech and contain digital processors that block out damaging sound waves from gunshots and explosions without barring them from hearing everyday noises are being bought and distributed by the Marines and the Navy for their men. For those who would be sent to Iraq and Afghanistan, it is good news that they would be given newly developed one sided earplugs that cost about $8.50, and some of these men have in fact been part of its testing.

What's more is that there is this firm the Navy is working with today, the one based in San Diego who is known to be developing something that will protect the ears of the troops in the form of a hearing pill. There showed a 25 to 27 percent reduction in permanent hearing loss among 566 who were recruited for the study back in the year 2003. To finish, we now see that American warfare for the first time in the past 3 years have assigned hearing specialists or hearing trained medics on its front lines instead of just in the outlying first aid sites or clinics.

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