• More than 45,000 vets from Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom have hearing loss.
• Of the 300,000 vets from the post 9/11/01 conflict, tinnitus is the #1 disability and hearing loss is #2.
• 35% of returning troops from Iraq and Afghanistan have hearing loss.

Any decibel above 85 is considered harmful.  Rifle fire is 150 decibels.  Bombing practices regularly hit 110 - 130 decibels.   Some troops have their hearing damaged during a skirmish and then can not hear commands that lead them to safety.    Their fellow soldiers are yelling at them to run or duck, but they can no longer hear.  As a hearing-impaired person whose chief complaint is missing out on some conversation during a social outing, this is horrifying.

But here is an even more horrifying part:   Most of these cases of hearing loss were because the soldier opted not to wear hearing protection.   Air Force Col. Joseph A. Brennan, the ENT doctor at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan, asks every soldier whom complains of hearing related issues if they were wearing hearing protection.  “Since I arrived here in May, I have not had one service member answer yes to that question,” he says.

(more…)

1. Make ear plugs a new accessory and a basic part of your wardrobe, like socks or sun protection. Stash them all over your house, your car, your work. Wear them while mowing the lawn or practicing at the shooting range or snow mobiling or at a concert or…you get the picture.

2. Use keep your windows rolled up while on the highway, or if you love the wind blowing through your hair, wear ear plugs! 70 mph passing tractor trailers are seriously loud.

(more…)