Ear Protection A Neglected Necessity

Thousands of soldiers in the US Army are suffering from hearing loss primarily because they are not provided with protection against noise in battle

. A precise number cannot be supplied by the Army. An effort is being made to study the problem's magnitude. Hearing loss after combat training can be so serious that about half of the thousands of men who train don't enter combat anymore.

The army hospital's chief audiologist based his estimate on research at Fort Jackson, where men lost their jobs because of hearing loss cases. This move would only be done if the hearing loss is at 113. This rating applied to more than half of the soldiers at Fort Jackson. Another 23.5 per cent had an 112 basic ranking, which indicates a lesser loss of hearing.

It was recommended back in 1963 by the surgeon general's office that each recruit should be given a pair of ear plugs. No implementation of this recommendation had taken place. Though earplugs were given in some cases, they weren't fitted. It was discovered that at Fort Dix, recruits were not strictly made to wear ear plugs while training in the rifle ranges.

Despite its necessity to protect the ears, ear plugs were highly discouraged by range officials. The use of ear plugs is now being required by fort officials, thanks to the report issued by hearing specialists. The men at Fort Knox have already accepted the possibility of partially losing their hearing. Having ear plugs in your ears during a cannon fire can be compared to having a stick being poked at your eardrum.

Around 832 rounds were fired in a training session at Fort Knox that included the trainees and the instructors. 16 hours after a two hour exposure to the noise, an observer claimed that his ears were still ringing. Ear protection can be further achieved if tankers wore sound reducing ear muffs.

Hearing loss is also a potential problem facing those in helicopter flight and ground crews. Noise screening is not something the present helicopter helmet does effectively. It is recommended that the Navy helmet be used in place of the Army helmet.

According to the Army, the helmet doesn't provide the same kind of protection necessary in case of a crash, despite the Navy's claims that it does. So does the Canadian air force which supplies its jet pilots with the same helmet. According to him, this helmet can be used to substitute training base wear which are actually just repainted football helmets.

The ear plugs issued by the Army don't seem to be comfortable for soldiers. Cigarette filters seem to be a better alternative for them. These temporary ear plugs don't give much protection, experts claim.

by: Jacob Price

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