Why Doesn't the US Military Do More for Tinnitus Research?

I thought CPAP was for sleep apnea?

 

Yes, my mistake. Developed sleep apnea and was getting a CPAP machine.

 

I got this response when asking about what the MOD (Ministry of Defence), UK, was doing about tinnitus:

"Thank you for your email of 16 September 2019 to the Minister for Defence Personnel and Veterans, the Hon Johnny Mercer MP, about tinnitus. The Minister appreciates you taking the time to write on this important matter and has asked the Joint Medical Group to respond. We recognise the significant impact that tinnitus and hearing loss can have on lives and we are taking steps to address this in the Service community. The hearWELL collaboration, established several years ago by Defence, is engaging with key stakeholders to further translational research into the prevention, detection and treatment of tinnitus and noise/blast induced hearing loss. Our partners are many and include the NHS, Department of Health and Social Care, the Health and Safety Executive, universities and NATO; primarily the US Department of Defense Hearing Center of Excellence. In a short time, the hearWELL collaboration has become the internationally recognised driver for change in this area, producing outcomes that have had a very significant, direct affect. These advances are envisaged to change the pathway for the management of these conditions entirely within Defence and offer significant scope for translation through to the NHS practice. As the collaboration develops it will continue to strive to be truly ‘whole force’, using research to drive outcomes to the benefit of all; serving personnel, veterans, families and their support networks. We trust you will be reassured by this. Yours sincerely, Joint Medical Group"

 

Could you translate that please?
Does that mean ... ”blow me”?

 

Hell it's more than I got from our US DoD. They sent 2 generic emails that essentially didn't even make sense as a response to my inquiry.

 

I wonder what the "hearWELL collaboration" is. I did not find anything with this item in the Net.

 

TRANSLATION:

"Boiler plate intro. Boiler plate platitude. We are aware of tinnitus and are "doing things". The hearWELL collaboration, we aren't doing shit until we have an objective measure for tinnitus presence because big money is at stake. The conspiracy to downplay this condition goes up to the highest levels of government including the military. We plan to make management strategies the #1 form of treatment. We are going to force the idea of management strategies down everyone's throats with a massive propaganda campaign. We trust you will be reassured by this. Yours sincerely, Joint Medical Group"

 

Yeah, it's utter bollocks.

Nobody gives a toss.

 

NOISE Study: Examining Hearing Loss, Tinnitus in the U.S. Military

https://journals.lww.com/thehearing...__Examining_Hearing_Loss,_Tinnitus_in.14.aspx

 

Common Health Problems of the Military Rotorcraft Pilot

Background/Purpose: The purpose of this article is to review current data and treatment recommendations regarding hearing loss/tinnitus, cervicalgia and lumbago among military rotorcraft pilots and their crew.

Method: Separate PubMed searches were completed using the search terms [military helicopter pilot with neck pain, back pain, hearing loss and tinnitus] respectively. 57 relevant articles were generated. These articles combined with Google Scholar searches of the same and the 2019 Report to Armed Services Committees of the Senate and House of Representatives Study on Health of Helicopter and Tiltrotor Pilots: Literature Review and Epidemiology Study will serve as the basis of this review.

Results: Rotorcraft pilots and their crew have an increased incidence of hearing loss, tinnitus, neck pain and back pain.

Discussion/Conclusion: Strong hearing conservation programs have reduced the rate of tinnitus and hearing loss. Neck pain has been associated with heavy laden helmets, helmets with imbalanced load and improper ergonomics within the cockpit. Back pain has been associated with increased length of exposure to vibration, as well as improper ergonomics within the cockpit.

Source: https://digitalshowcase.lynchburg.edu/dmscjournal/vol2/iss3/61/

 

Well no stats in the abstract, I guess if we want further information, we should contact the association.

Hearing Problems Among the Members of the Defence Forces in Relation to Personal and Occupational Risk Factors

Introduction
The Defence Forces’ members are exposed to high-level noise that increases their risk of hearing loss (HL). Besides military noise, the other risk factors include age and gender, ototoxic chemicals, vibration, and chronic stress. The current study was designed to study the effects of personal, work conditions-related risk factors, and other health-related traits on the presence of hearing problems.

Materials and Methods
A cross-sectional study among active military service members was carried out. Altogether, 807 respondents completed a questionnaire about their health and personal and work-related risk factors in indoor and outdoor environments. The statistical analysis was performed using statistical package of social sciences (descriptive statistics) and R (correlation and regression analysis) software.

Results
Almost half of the active service members reported HL during their service period. The most important risk factors predicting HL in the military appeared to be age, gender, and service duration. Also, working in a noisy environment with exposure to technological, vehicle, and impulse noise shows a statistically significant effect on hearing health. Moreover, we could identify the effect of stress on tinnitus and HL during the service period. Most importantly, active service members not using hearing protectors, tend to have more tinnitus than those who use it.

Conclusions
The members of the Defence Forces experience noise from various sources, most of it resulting from outdoor activities. Personal and work conditions-related risk factors as well as stress increase the risk of hearing problems.

Source: https://academic.oup.com/milmed/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/milmed/usaa224/5898653

 

Noises of War and Hearing Care

So according to the reference of this publication, tinnitus is still the number one compensated disability:

"For veterans returning from World War II (1941-1946), the Korean War (1950-1955), the Vietnam War (1961-1975), the Gulf War (1990 to present), the Afghanistan War (2001-present), and the Iraq War (2003-present), tinnitus is the number one compensated disability followed by hearing loss, and the “limitation of limbs (knees).”

U.S Department of Veteran Affairs (2019). Veteran's Benefits Administration Annual Benefits Report for Fiscal