As soldiers return from active combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, both the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and Veterans Administration (VA) have seen a significant increase in hearing damage, tinnitus and hearing loss compensation claims of active-duty soldiers and veterans — to the tune of $1.1 billion. In fact, hearing damage is the most common disability among soldiers returning from the past ten years of combat.
Concern of such medical injuries and lifelong illnesses reached members of Congress, who charged the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to study and report upon the root cause and tactics employed by military Hearing Conservation Programs to prevent further hearing loss. The resulting report was “Hearing Loss Prevention: Improvements to DoD Hearing Conservation Programs Could Lead to Better Outcomes.”