Controversial Thing Someone Said About Tinnitus Being the #1 Reason Veterans Are on Disability

So I don't want to start an argument or minimize ANYONE'S suffering.

I have a friend whose husband directs a very large veteran non profit. I said to her I have something that is the #1 reason veterans go on disability. She knew instantly. Tinnitus.

She said that upon getting out of the military veterans are often instructed by co veterans to open a T case no matter if they have it or not because they WILL get it eventually (which I actually thought was odd. I know she really believed that in the most sincere way but is that true?)

She did not say this however but T is not something you can test for so there is a good possibility that it is utilized so often because of that as well.

There have been many stories about how veterans have misused disability and again this is not to diminish anyone's real suffering. I am saying this because it is often something we hear and it instills fear in us.

 

Wow, that is terrible. I talked with a veteran recently who had an IED blow up near him and now he has to use hearing aids and has tinnitus.

 

Yes, this is something I have commonly seen referenced in forums where veterans post.

The highest statistic I've seen is that 40% of combat veterans have tinnitus, but I wouldn't be shocked if it was a lot higher than that. It turns out that shooting machine guns for months with minimal hearing protection is pretty bad for you.

 

I have wondered about this too. Like linearb said they work in some very noisy environments so it comes as no surprise tinnitus and hearing loss is common. That being said I wouldn't be surprised if some take advantage of it. 20% of your final salary tax free for life is a pretty sweet deal, though I would much rather not have tinnitus.

I wish the VA would do more for research than just throwing away money for things like TRT.

 

Vets are entitled to a 10% disability for tinnitus.

 

FYI My sister is a clinical psychologist for the Veterans Administration and she has stated to me that tinnitus is the number one combat injury that these guys are coming back with. I hear what you're saying and I understand but there is a lot of validity to the veteran tinnitus claim.

 

I hope ever vet makes a T claim, maybe in would give them an incentive to fund cures

 

Another thing: at this point, the majority of veterans today in the VA medical system in the U.S. were in World War II, the Korean War or Vietnam. Back in those days, the military did little to counsel soldiers and sailors about the dangers or noise exposure or provide ear protection. So that's one reason for the high rate of tinnitus disability, not to say that those currently in combat aren't at similar risk.

By the way: My mother's partner is a World War II veteran who fought in an infantry battalion. I can't even image the horrible noise (and horrible everything else). Today, he is profoundly deaf and has been for many decades. The VA was willing to give him hearing aids, and dug in their heels about even doing that. Last year, when his aids stopped working because they were so outdated, they insisted he had to wait five years to get a new pair. He was 92. The only way we were able to finally get something for him was by consistently lobbying his doctors, legislators and the VA, saying he might have to go to his grave without hearing anything ever again -- a misery for both him and his family.

So just saying: being a veteran isn't the sweet deal some might think.