Watertown Commission on Disability

This is a staggering increase in hearing loss in the United States:

Hearing Loss Reaches Epidemic Numbers Among Veterans
By CHELSEA J. CARTER
The Associated Press

Published: March 15, 2008

SAN DIEGO – Soldiers and Marines caught in roadside bombings and firefights in Iraq and Afghanistan are coming home in epidemic numbers with permanent hearing loss and ringing in their ears, prompting the military to redouble its efforts to protect the troops from noise.

Hearing damage is the No. 1 disability in the war on terrorism, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs, and some experts say the true toll could take decades to become clear. Nearly 70,000 of the more than 1.3 million troops who have served in the two war zones are collecting disability for tinnitus, a potentially debilitating ringing in the ears, and more than 58,000 are on disability for hearing loss, the VA said.  [continued …]