Various:
Nearly one in ten troops who have served in Afghanistan and
Iraq are on disability because of damaged hearing.Currently
most troops rely on a pair of double-sided earplugs worth $7.40
to protect their hearing in war zones
writes
Chelsea J. Carter for the associated press. One side of the
ear plug is designed to protect from weapons fire and
explosions, the other from aircraft and tank noise. But the
Marines were not given instructions in how to use the earplugs,
and some cut them in half, while others used the wrong sides,
making the devices virtually useless.In any case, hearing
protection has its limits. While damage can occur at 80 to 85
decibels âmdash; the noise level of a moving
tank âmdash; the best protection cuts that by
only 20 to 25 decibels. That is not enough to protect the ears
against an explosion or a firefight, which can range upwards of
183 decibels, said Dr. Ben Balough, a Navy captain and chairman
of otolaryngology at the Balboa Navy Medical Center in San
Diego.Nearly 70,000 of the more than 1.3 million troops who
have served in the two war zones are collecting disability for
tinnitus, a potentially debilitating ringing in the ears, and
more than 58,000 are on disability for hearing loss, says the
Department of Veterans Affairs,
costing
the department nearly $805 million annually. The powerful
roadside bombs detonated in Iraq cause violent changes in air
pressure that can rupture the eardrum and break bones inside
the ear. Sixty percent of U.S. personnel exposed to blasts
suffer from permanent hearing loss, and 49 percent also suffer
from tinnitus, according to military audiology reports. 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. There is no known cure for tinnitus or hearing
loss.The Navy and Marines have begun buying and distributing
state-of-the-art earplugs, known as QuietPro, that contain
digital processors that block out damaging sound waves from
gunshots and explosions and still allow users to hear everyday
noises. They cost about $600 a pair. According to
Andrew
Tilghman at Marine Times the QuietPro looks like an pod and
is integrated into the users radio system, allowing troops to
hear their radios and the sounds around them. A digital
processor locks up at any sign of a blast that could damage the
inner ear, and opens up again immediately after a blast to
permit normal sound. The Marines have ordered 48,000 devices to
be deployed over the next two years.The Army also has equipped
every soldier being sent to Iraq and Afghanistan with newly
developed one-sided earplugs that cost about $8.50, and it has
begun testing QuietPro with some troops.In addition, the Navy
is working with San Diego-based
American BioHealth
Group to develop a "
hearing pill" that
could protect troops' ears. An early study in 2003 on 566
recruits showed a 25 to 27 percent reduction in permanent
hearing loss. But further testing is planned.And for the first
time in American warfare, for the past three years, hearing
specialists or hearing-trained medics have been put on the
front lines instead of just at field hospitals, Hoffer said.The
main difficulty however, lies with the troops, who worry that
ear plugs and other protection devices might limit awareness of
their surroundings, and get them killed. "I think these
soldiers are choosing between hearing damage and their lives,
in their mind. And that may not literally be true." said David
Fagerlie, head of the
American Tinnitus
Association.
Related links
Hearing
problems a constant reminder of Iraq duty (Stars &
Stripes)
Hearing
Loss Rises Among U.S. Soldiers in Iraq (American
Speech-Language Hearing Association)
High-tech
ear gear offers more protection (Marine Times)
