Missing appendages, post-traumatic stress, and brain trauma: These are what many people think of when they think about post-combat injuries. However, many fail to consider another consequence of combat: hearing loss. Here are 5 facts you may not know about hearing loss among veterans.

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5 Facts You May Not Know About Hearing Loss Among
Veterans
Missing appendages, post-traumatic
stress, and brain trauma: These are what
many people think of when they think
about post-combat injuries. However,
many fail to consider another
consequence of combat: hearing loss.
Here are 5 facts you may not know about
hearing loss among veterans.
Hearing loss is the most prevalent injury among post-combat veterans. –
Hearing loss is even more common than PTSD (post-traumatic stress
disorder). Severe hearing loss is commonly caused by bomb detonations and
general military and combat noise. Improvised explosive devices, loud
weapons, and other sounds such as the engines of ships, planes, and tanks
can cause tinnitus and temporary to permanent loss of hearing. Soldiers who
have served since September 2011 are especially afflicted with hearing
damage. Indeed, the numbers of soldiers who suffered hearing loss or
tinnitus after the attacks on the World Trade Center swelled to 414,000.
Soldiers are more likely to suffer hearing damage than civilians. – Veterans
are 30 percent more likely than nonveterans to suffer hearing loss of the
severe kind. Even more concerning is that among those who served from
September 2001 to March 2010, veterans were four times more like to suffer
hearing loss than nonveterans.

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Hearing loss may be more prevalent now than it was for soldiers in the past.
– Larger and louder weapons technology very likely contributes to higher
numbers of veterans with hearing loss. Intensely loud field generators,
bombs such as “bunker busters,” and even modern helicopters can cause
hearing impairment if soldiers don’t take precautions.
Only a small number of soldiers returning home with damaged hearing
actually get medical attention right away. – Most soldiers with hearing
damage or tinnitus avoid seeking out help for their injury upon returning
home, according to experts. They often let it go for long periods of time.
Incredibly, the average time between someone noticing hearing damage and
getting help for it is 7 years.
Severe tinnitus may be eased, thanks to advances in neuroscience. – Some
scientists assert that low serotonin levels may be linked to how severe a
person’s tinnitus can be. Low serotonin can cause insomnia, depression, and
anxiety. Some veterans with tinnitus have found that anti-depressants
combined with other tinnitus therapies eased their chronic condition
significantly.