How Hearing Loss and Tinnitus Affect Our Veterans

By Emily Shepard

Today is Veterans Day. The holiday is important not only because it honors our soldiers, but also because it is a time to raise awareness about their experiences on and off the battlefield. Hearing loss is a major health issue for soldiers, both active duty personnel and veterans. Any form of hearing loss can be detrimental to soldiers on duty, as the ability to hear signs of danger and to communicate with fellow soldiers is crucial for mission success and, more importantly, survival. According to the U.S. Department of Defense’s Hearing Center of Excellence (HCE), a whopping 60% of veterans have returned home with hearing loss or tinnitus over the last decade.

The Fall 2015 issue of Hearing Health magazine focused on hearing loss and tinnitus among U.S. military service members and veterans. In “Tuning Out the Noise,” Ashleigh Byrnes explains that tinnitus is one of the most prevalent injuries among veterans.  The number of veterans diagnosed with service-connected tinnitus is estimated at 1.5 million. According to Byrnes, persistent tinnitus can be “described as noise that prevents sleep or the ability to concentrate” and may “leave patients more vulnerable to other mental health problems, such as depression and anxiety.” Luckily, there are treatment methods, new and old, that can ease the symptoms of tinnitus. 

Sound therapy, long regarded as one of the most successful ways to treat tinnitus, has been practiced for more than 30 years. Between 60-90% of patients report relief from their symptoms using this method. Another option is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which may include the use of relaxation or distraction techniques, or altering the way patients think about their symptoms. Those who try sound therapy or CBT may be able to cope with tinnitus with more positive outcomes.

When it comes to hearing loss, soldiers are at an increased risk. They are susceptible to noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) due to exposure to loud machinery and explosions on a constant basis. In combat, soldiers are often exposed to sudden noises, such as from an improvised explosive device (IED) or other similar weapons, which are difficult to predict and prevent against.  These sudden noises can result in temporary hearing loss and put military personnel at risk. However, the word “temporary” should be approached with caution. Repeated short-term hearing loss can damage the sensitive hair cells in the inner ear, causing hearing loss that becomes permanent.

With an inability to grow back, inner ear hair cells, when they are damaged or die, can lead to permanent hearing loss. HHF is actively working to reverse this trend. Researchers funded by HHF’s Emerging Research Grants program (ERG) discovered that birds have the ability to spontaneously re-grow inner ear hair cells after they are damaged and restore their hearing—unlike mammals. Through HHF’s Hearing Restoration Project (HRP), a consortium of top hearing scientists is working to translate this finding to the human ear. The HRP’s goal is to regenerate inner ear hair cells in humans and permanently restore hearing to those affected by hearing loss, such as soldiers and veterans. The HRP researchers have made significant strides in this research and have been working hard to find meaningful answers, which you can read about here.

To learn more about hearing loss and tinnitus, please visit our Veterans’ Resource Page.

Your support helps us continue this extraordinary research.

Celebrate Veterans Day and honor our troops by donating today.

One Day in 1967

By Michele Ahlman

Growing up, I remember thinking how cool it was that I had a German birth certificate: a hand-typed, raggedy piece of paper identifying, in German, my birth in a U.S. Army hospital in Heidelberg.

In the late ’60s my dad, Richard Uzuanis, was a 23-year old tank commander for the 3rd Battalion 68th Armor stationed in Mannheim. I’ve always known my dad lost a lot of his hearing while serving in the military. But we never talked about it or the impact it had, until recently. Apparently, during a live fire tank gunnery exercise in 1967, one of the tanks misfired. And at the time, hearing protection was not standard-issue equipment.

It was Dad’s responsibility to remove the misfire. “I got into the tank and opened the breach to remove the misfired round,” he says. “But the round was swollen due to overheating. I couldn’t get it out or close the breach. As I moved quickly to evacuate through the tank hatch, the round exploded, sending me 20 feet in the air.”

To read the full article, please visit the Fall 2015 Issue of Hearing Health Magazine.

If you are a veteran, current service member, or have family or friends who have bravely served our country, review these resources about hearing loss and tinnitus.

Show support for our veterans via one of these ways:

• Sharing your hearing loss or tinnitus story

• Donating at the workplace

• Donating via HHF’s website

• Reading and sharing the veterans’ special issue of Hearing Health magazine

Show our Veterans that You Are Hear For A Cure

By Pallavi Bharadwaj

Can you imagine returning home after serving in the military for your country without your hearing and with constant ringing in your ears?

Credit: @srz/Unsplash

Tinnitus and noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) are the number one and two war wounds among veterans returning home. In the past decade, over one million service members have been impacted by tinnitus, hearing loss, and/or other auditory disorders.

To provide support to the community of veterans with hearing problems, Hearing Health Foundation (HHF) launched a veterans’ resource center on our website. This section is designed to help veterans cope with hearing loss and tinnitus. Resources such as research updates on new treatment options, stories from veterans who have been affected, and topical features from Hearing Health magazine can be accessed here.

Most importantly, we would like to share with our service members the exciting prospect of a cure for hearing loss and tinnitus through our Hearing Restoration Project (HRP). The HRP is working to translate the ability in chickens to restore hearing for humans in order to deliver a cure for veterans and for all those suffering from hearing loss and tinnitus.

If you are a veteran, current service member, or have family or friends who have bravely served our country, review these resources about hearing loss and tinnitus.

This Memorial Day, We Honor Our Veterans Who Disproportionately Suffer from Hearing Loss & Tinnitus

By Tara Guastella

In early May, I attended the Classy awards collaborative weekend in San Diego, where hundreds of people making a difference in the nonprofit sector came together to find ways to innovate and collaborate. During one of the sessions, I learned of a startling statistic: 22 veterans commit suicide each day.

When I heard this, the first thing that popped into my mind was the fact that 60 percent of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan have hearing loss or tinnitus. These conditions have consistently been the top two health complaints at Veteran Affairs Medical Centers. Hearing loss is also linked to higher rates of depression.

Since hearing problems are so prevalent among military service members, as are such mental health concerns as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, I began to wonder what services are provided to veterans to help them adjust. I soon learned that organizations like the Easter Seals Dixon Center (whom I met at the Classy awards weekend) are building collaborative networks in local communities to provide a holistic approach to veteran care.

The Dixon Center has built a network of more than 20,000 organizations and like-minded individuals, serving over 560 communities. They help communities identify and mobilize direct services to support educational and employment opportunities alongside services for healthcare, legal and financial advice, and housing. I was happy to learn that they are actively working to meet the everyday needs of veterans and their families while also anticipating their future needs.

To help veterans cope with hearing issues, we launched a veterans resource center earlier this year. We highlight various treatments for tinnitus that are being clinically tested as well as the promise of a cure for everyone with hearing loss and tinnitus, including veterans, through our Hearing Restoration Project consortium. You’ll find profiles of several veterans impacted by hearing loss and tinnitus while serving overseas, and you too can share your experience with us. We also have a page dedicated to resources where veterans can find additional hearing and health-related support. The upcoming summer issue of Hearing Health magazine will focus specifically on noise-induced hearing loss and tinnitus, highlighting these health issues in the military.

With providing continued support to our veteran community, I hope to learn that the suicide rates decrease in years to come.

Since these brave men and women are disproportionately impacted by hearing problems, which likely impacts many other aspects of their lives, the team at HHF wishes to honor all of our veterans this Memorial Day.

You Can Help Us Find a Cure!

By Tara Guastella

Do you, or a family member, or a friend have a hearing loss? Do you know someone returning from military service who developed a hearing loss or tinnitus while serving our country? Do you want to help us find a cure for hearing loss and tinnitus?

Help us fundraise for a cure!  

We are excited to announce the launch of our new giving platform that will help you do just that. Join us in finding a cure for hearing loss and tinnitus by creating a fundraising event for Giving Tuesday, on December 3 this year, an international day of giving that kicks off the holiday giving season.

But don’t worry--if you aren’t able to plan something for for Giving Tuesday, no problem. Our giving platform will be available to you year-round for any event or giving idea that you may have.

There are many different ways to create your own fundraising event, ranging from golf outings and bake sales, to birthdays and weddings, to marathons and triathlons. Let your talents and interests lead you--no event is too large or too small!

If you’re looking for a unique way to create a fundraising event, we have several examples of past events, such as Publishing for Vision & Hearing and DJ’ing for a Cure, alongside more traditional sporting event examples like the NYC Marathon, Marine Corp Marathon, and Aquaphor NYC Triathlon. Looking for other ideas? We have those for you too!

If you’ve never fundraised before, don’t let that stop you. We provide email templates and examples of how to reach out to friends and family to ask for support of your event. We also provide a host of social media sharing options. Did you know the average person has 300 friends on Facebook? If you create an event and ask each of your Facebook friends to donate $5, you can raise $1,500!

Once you’ve nailed down how you’d like to fundraise, in three easy steps you’ll be on your way to helping us support groundbreaking research to cure hearing loss and tinnitus. 1.) Register; 2) Create your Giving Page; 3) Share your personal page with family and friends and ask for their support.

Get Started!

Thank you in advance for your help toward finding a cure for hearing loss and tinnitus.

Have questions or need help setting up your fundraiser?  Email fundraise@hhf.org or call (212) 257-6140.

Today, We Honor our Vets: 60% of Whom Return with Hearing Loss or Tinnitus

By Yishane Lee

Veterans are uniquely affected by noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) and tinnitus. These two conditions are the top complaints among returning military personnel. In part due to ongoing conflicts abroad, there have been more than 1 million cases of tinnitus, hearing loss, and other auditory disorders over the past decade.

Noise exposure during service in Iraq and Afghanistan is to blame, but veterans from older conflicts also report their hearing has been damaged, likely in part due to their military service decades ago.

At HHF, we have been working with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to bring attention to this major health threat among veterans. Among the average population, the risk of NIHL in the workplace is something that is very preventable, through the use of earplugs, sound-damping architectural or interior design features, and plain-old noise breaks, as mandated by the Occupational Safety & Health Administration.

But out in the field, with the machinery that is necessary for military readiness and the constant risk of facing potential enemy combatants, hearing well—and the ability to hear signs of danger and fellow soldiers—can be a matter of life or death. Sudden noises, such as from an improvised explosive device (IED) or other weapons, can’t necessarily be predicted—and protected from.

What’s more, the temporary hearing loss that results from a sudden loud explosion puts the military personnel even more at risk. (Think about how your hearing is muffled after a loud concert. Now think about experiencing that muffled hearing in a tense combat situation.) Although recent research has found that short-term hearing loss may actually protect hearing, if it is repeated often enough, the sensitive hair cells in the inner ear die, leading to permanent hearing loss. (HHF is working to find a way to regenerate hair cells, through our Hearing Restoration Project.)

The VA has been working to remedy the situation. Together with the Department of Defense, its Veterans Health Administration launched the Hearing Center of Excellence to provide education and resources to members of the military. Among the Texas-based center’s mission drivers and goals are prevention and education, accurate and comprehensive data collection, and research into effective treatments, according to otolaryngologist Mark D. Packer, M.D., its founding director. (And yes, we here at HHF have the same goals, along with the search for a cure for hearing loss and tinnitus.)

The VA is also conducting clinical trials to find an effective tinnitus treatment, including the landmark Tinnitus Retraining Therapy Trial, headed by Craig Formby, Ph.D. A sequential tinnitus treatment, called Progressive Tinnitus Management, is also showing promise among veterans. For one thing, part of the treatment can be done remotely, over the phone or the computer. This diminishes the need for frequent trips to a VA hospital, which veterans say can be difficult to maintain because of work, other injuries, finances, or sheer distance.

This Veterans Day, please take a moment to remember the service that our fellow Americans have volunteered to perform for the rest of the country, and share your stories and comments below.

Marathoning for a Cure for Hearing Loss and Tinnitus

By Tara Guastella

Whether it’s cycling, running, swimming, or whatever interests you—be it baking, knitting, or painting—we can work together to help you fundraise to help HHF fund research that will cure hearing loss. This fall, several individuals across the country will be running a marathon for a cure for hearing loss and tinnitus while raising funds to help HHF support groundbreaking research.

Marine Corps Marathon
Sixteen years ago, Julie Davis joined a group of 50 million people in this country, and it wasn't by choice. Her left ear stopped working and the buzzing and ringing started. Not only had she experienced profound hearing loss, but she also acquired vertigo, balance issues, and other consequences associated with hearing loss that many people rarely discuss. On October 27, 2013, Julie will Run for the Buzz in the Marine Corp Marathon and is raising funds for a cure for hearing loss and tinnitus. Support her run today!

ING New York City Marathon
On November 3, 2013, Tom Abbey, Veronica Calhoun, Tara Guastella (HHF staff member and the author of this post), Andy Shepard, and Kim Montini will tackle the 26.2 miles of the NYC Marathon in support of a cure for hearing loss and tinnitus. Each team member is spending the next several months training for the run with Tom Abbey of Functional Fitness VA, a team member and trainer. Whether being impacted by hearing loss personally or through a family member, each team member is excited to raise funds for HHF in order to expedite the timeline to a cure.
    
Visit Team Hearing Health's Marathon page and support the team as they run through the five boroughs of NYC for a cure for hearing loss and tinnitus.

Learn about other unique ways individuals are fundraising to cure hearing loss. If you are interested in fundraising for a cure, please contact development@hhf.org.