The American Tinnitus Association (ATA) has spent 2013 saluting members of the United States military and veterans, because they suffer from tinnitus disproportionately from the rest of the civilian population. For the past five years, tinnitus has been the number one service-connected disability for veterans from all periods of service and is particularly prevalent in Iraq and Afghanistan veterans.
Hundreds of people were in close proximity to the deafening bomb blasts at the Boston Marathon, and many have been treated at local hospitals for serious ear injuries. But hearing specialists say an untold number of other people could be suffering from hearing loss or ringing in their ears, called tinnitus, though they did not seek out medical help immediately.
As the nation continues to focus on health care prevention through reform, one cause of serious illness and even death gets ignored — environmental noise pollution.
The Hearing Loss Association of America believes seniors with hearing loss should not have to scrimp and save, or go without basic needs, to just be able to hear. Seniors on fixed incomes, seniors who depend on Social Security and Medicare, seniors who don’t qualify for Medicaid or who live in states that don’t provide hearing aids through Medicaid, should not have to choose between hearing and their other basic needs.
According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), 22 million Americans are exposed daily to hazardous noise on the job, putting them at risk of developing permanent, incurable hearing loss or tinnitus. An estimated $242 million is spent annually on worker's compensation for hearing loss disability.
Coverage of the 2013 NSC Congress & Expo in Chicago, the government shutdown’s affect on OSHA and hearing loss stories were among the top EHS-related articles featured last week on ISHN.com:
Hearing loss happens for many reasons. Some people lose their hearing slowly as they age. This condition is known as presbycusis (prez-buh-KYOO-sis). Doctors do not know why presbycusis happens, but it seems to run in families.
Men are more likely than women to experience hearing loss
October 1, 2013
1 in 5 Americans have hearing loss in at least one ear. This is 48 million people and far exceeds previous hearing care industry estimates of approximately 25 million.*****
After a decade of war, America is well schooled on post-traumatic stress, lost limbs and traumatic brain injury, but the most common injury sustained by U.S. troops is literally a silent wound: hearing loss, according to NBC News.
Any safety manager will reasonably segregate personal protective equipment (PPE) into categories based on the hazards such equipment is designed to mitigate.
