Hearing Loss Overview

Loud noise can damage your hearing. Noise is considered hazardous based on:

  • How loud the sound is
  • How long the exposure lasts
  • How often the exposure is repeated

Hearing Loss Types

  1. Noise-Induced Hearing Loss — Loud noise at work can damage your hearing. Noise exposure is a risk that is present in all industries.
  2. Chemical-Induced Hearing Loss — Exposure to certain chemicals at work can cause damage to different parts of the ear. These chemicals are called ototoxicants or “ototoxic chemicals.” Exposure to ototoxic chemicals can cause hearing loss. Sometimes, exposure to chemicals can make ears more sensitive to the harmful effects of noise.

Hearing Loss Signs and Symptoms

Signs include:

  • You have difficulty distinguishing sounds or understanding speech, especially when there’s background noise.
  • Your ears ring or sounds seem dull or flat after leaving a noisy area.
  • Sounds seem muffled, or you find yourself having to turn the volume higher when you listen to music, the radio or television.

To determine your ability to hear and the extent of your hearing loss, your doctor may refer you to a hearing specialist (audiologist) for hearing tests. During more thorough testing conducted by an audiologist, you wear earphones and hear sounds directed to one ear at a time.

The audiologist presents a range of sounds of various tones and asks you to indicate each time you hear the sound. Each tone is repeated at faint levels to find out when you can barely hear. The audiologist will also present various words to determine your hearing ability.

Hearing Loss Risk Factors

For military personnel, the wear and tear on your ears over time from noise such as shooting firearms, explosions and aircraft engines can contribute to hearing loss by damaging your inner ear (cochlea). Tiny hairs in the cochlea may break or become bent, and nerve cells may degenerate. When the nerve cells or the hairs are damaged or missing, electrical signals aren’t transmitted as efficiently, and hearing loss occurs. A ruptured eardrum may also result in hearing loss.

Tinnitus Overview

Tinnitus is the perception of sound within the human ear in the absence of corresponding external sound. Tinnitus can be perceived in one or both ears or in the head. The sound perceived may range from a quiet background noise to one that can be heard even over loud external sounds.

Tinnitus Types

  1. Usually described as a ringing noise, but in some patients, it takes the form of a high pitched whining, buzzing, hissing, humming, or whistling sound, or as ticking, clicking, roaring, “crickets” or “tree frogs” or “locusts”, tunes, songs, or beeping.
  2. Also described as a “wooshing” sound, as of wind or waves. Tinnitus can be intermittent, or it can be continuous. In the latter case, this “phantom” sound can create great distress in the sufferer.

Tinnitus is not itself a disease, but a symptom resulting from a range of underlying causes including ear injury from loud noises. For military personnel, the wear and tear on your ears over time from noise such as shooting firearms, explosions and aircraft engines can contribute to tinnitus.

Because tinnitus is often defined as a subjective phenomenon, it is difficult to measure using objective tests, such as by comparison to noise of known frequency and intensity, as in an audiometric or hearing test. The condition is often rated clinically on a simple scale from “slight” to “catastrophic” according to the practical difficulties it imposes, such as interference with sleep, quiet activities, or normal daily activities. There are many treatments for tinnitus that have been claimed, with varying degrees of statistical reliability.

Currently, there are over 1.7 million Veterans who receive compensation for tinnitus (or ringing in the ears) and over 1.1 million Veterans who receive compensation for hearing loss. Most of the hearing loss among Veterans is the result of noise exposure from gunfire, aircraft, tanks, and bombs.

Hearing Loss and Tinnitus Treatment

Hearing loss treatment depends on the cause and severity of your hearing loss. If your hearing loss is less severe, a hearing aid can be helpful by making sounds stronger and easier for you to hear. If your hearing loss is more severe, often due to serious damage to your inner ear, a surgically implanted electronic device called a cochlear implant may be an option.

Hearing loss is one of the top service-connected disabilities among Veterans. VA offers comprehensive care services to Veterans with hearing loss, tinnitus, and balance. This type of hearing loss is generally caused by noise exposure, age, or both.

VA Services

VA audiologists also provide multiple hearing health care services to eligible Veterans, including:

  • Disability audiology exams for Veterans and Servicemembers.
  • Assessment, treatment, and management of hearing loss, tinnitus, and balance disorders.
  • Other assistive listening devices such as TV and telephone amplifiers, and post-surgical rehabilitation for cochlear and other auditory implants.
  • Noise-induced hearing loss prevention services, and aural rehabilitation services to optimize residual hearing.

Other Resources and Support

https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/noise/about/chemicals.html

https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/noise/about/noise.html

https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/noise/about/noise.html#cdc_generic_section_1-noise-and-hearing-loss-basics

https://www.myhealth.va.gov/mhv-portal-web/ss20190521-hearing-loss

https://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/noise/index.asp