When soldiers go to war, they often bring an unwanted souvenir home with them...a hearing loss. About Deafness/HOH interviewed a veteran, Doug Smith, who acquired a hearing loss:
Smith Loses Hearing
Q: What happened in the military to cause your hearing loss?
A: I was a navy diver..and submarine sailor...I crushed my eardrums. This happened in 1976. Quite a few submarine sailors have hearing damage due to the pressures we deal with.
Q: How much of a hearing loss did you sustain?
A: Over 50 percent in both ears.
Smith Returns Home
Q: What kind of help did you get (medically) from the military? Were you given any assistive devices like a hearing aid (circa 1976 of course)?
A: The military gave no real help. The military didn't really do anything about my ears. I got no disability to speak of. My case was transferred to the VA (Veterans Administration, now the Department of Veterans Affairs). I went for a hearing test and the VA said yep, you've got significant hearing loss. Have a nice day.
Q: That was 1976. Are things better today? If a veteran acquires hearing loss today, can that veteran look forward to better treatment than you got in 1976?
A: I would say probably not. Most of the medical help comes from the Veterans Admin. Don't get me wrong. The military hospitals and the VA hospitals are great places, but there is not a whole lot medically they could do to help me.
Smith Gets Discharged
Q: What impact, if any, did this hearing loss have on your military career?
A: After 14 years (in the military) I was medically discharged for the hearing loss as well as a seizure disorder.
Articles on Veterans and Hearing Loss
Doug Smith is just one of many veterans affected by hearing loss. In addition to Mr. Smith, in one of my early college classes I encountered a veteran who had been deafened in the military.
Other articles have been written about veterans and hearing loss. Some articles appeared in Hearing Health magazine, which printed several articles on the issue, hoping to draw attention to the matter.
- Veterans Report, Spring 2002. This is an essay that reprints a letter from Rocky Stone, founder of Self Help for Hard of Hearing People.
- On the Other Hand: The VA: More Money, Better Service? Spring 2002. Continues from previous article.
- The Veteran's Dilemma: To fight or walk away from the VA, Winter 2001. Tells the story of a Vietnam war veteran who sustained a hearing loss.
- Veteran Care: Today's and Tomorrrow's, Fall 2001.
Other Resources for Veterans with Hearing Loss
The VA has the following resources on hearing loss:
- Hearing Aids Information Bulletin 90-3, which addresses the evaluation of hearing aids by the Veterans Administration
- VA Handbook 1173.7, Audiology and Speech Devices
- Directive VHA DIR 2002-039,07/05/02, Prescribing hearing aids and eyeglasses
- Network Memorandum 10N2-98-00, "Network 2 Provision of Hearing Aids and Other Assistive Listening Devices"
- VHA DIRECTIVE 96-069 concerns itself with prosthetic services
For more information, contact the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Are you a veteran? Did you acquire your hearing loss as a result of your service? What happened after you returned home? Read others' stories below and share your story.
Marine Veteran
My story is a lot like Doug's. In the early 70's I was in the Marine Corps. I noticed that I was having trouble hearing things, like the radio, TV, conversations in crowded rooms. I was always saying "huh," if I wasn't looking at the person that was talking's face. All I would hear was mumbling.
When I was inducted, my hearing was excellent, now something was different. I had been to the rifle range and wore hearing protection. However, we rode in helicopters a lot without hearing protection. I would notice my hearing was bad after these rides.
Getting Hearing TestedI went to the base hospital and was given an audiogram. I went over my hearing test with the doctor. He said I had a definite hearing loss in both ears. Then he pulled out a tuning fork about as big as my forearm and hit it on his desk. Holding it up in front of my face he said "Can you hear that?" I said "yes" and he said I was fit for duty and sent me away.
Hearing Test Almost FailedOn my first reenlistment I almost didn't pass my audiogram. The nurse said she would check to see if I would need a waiver for my hearing from the doctor. She came back and said I was okay but I probably would not pass my next reenlistment physical. Sure enough I didn't, so I asked about disability and was told that was only for 100% hearing loss but I was welcome to go before the Navy medical board to plead my case. It would take six to eight months beyond my ETS, so I just let it go.
