The Army Needs to Provide Better Ear Protection for Soldiers

Soldiers by the thousands are suffering from hearing loss because the Army does not provide them with ear protection. The number of cases cannot be counted. It's only now that an effort is being made to analyze how big the problem is. One hearing specialist of the Army points out that around half of 500,000 men in combat training experience severe hearing loss, disqualifying them from actual combat.

The army hospital's chief audiologist based his estimate on research at Fort Jackson, where men lost their jobs because of hearing loss cases. A hearing loss would have to be given a rating of 113 for this kind of decision. It was found that a big number of the soldiers at Fort Jackson had a rating of 113 in hearing loss. 23.5 percent had a 112 basic ranking.

It was recommended back in 1963 by the surgeon general's office that each recruit should be given a pair of ear plugs. This recommendation did not materialize. Recruits were supplied with earplugs but not fitted with them. 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. It was only after hearing the reports of hearing experts that ear plugs were being required. The men at Fort Knox have already accepted the possibility of partially losing their hearing. A soldier who wears ear plugs experiences pain in his eardrum when a cannon is fired.

Trainees and instructors experienced the noise of 832 rounds fired during a training session at Fort Knox. A reporter who was present during the activity could still hear ringing in his ears after 16 hours. Ear protection can be further achieved if tankers wore sound reducing ear muffs.

A commander at Fort Rucker in Alaska mentions that those involved with helicopter flight and ground crews may also be experiencing hearing loss problems. Noise screening is not something the present helicopter helmet does effectively. The next year, it specifically recommended that the Army helmet be replaced with a superior Navy helmet.

The Army believes that the helmet is not effective to protect against crash situations. The air force of Canada whose pilots use the same helmets attest to this claim. He said that this helmet, costing around $118 should be the same headgear of the crews who ride tanks.

Soldiers find the ear plugs really irritating. They prefer to poke filters from cigarettes in their ears. Not much protection can be gained from these more comfortable alternatives to ear plugs.

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