Your Hearing Loss Could Be Attributed To Military Service
Hearing loss can be a confusing problem to pinpoint because of how its detected. Unless your hearing was damaged by obvious trauma that you can identify by date, knowing the cause could require months of medical examination and testing. If you're a veteran with hearing loss, have you considered how the military could have affected your hearing? If not, know that there's ways to get help and compensation available. Take a look at few potential causes of hearing loss and ways that a hearing loss professional can help.
Occupational Hearing Hazards In The Military
Just like in the civilian world, some military occupations pose bigger threats to hearing than others. Some careers may have sporadic hearing threats along with other situational issues, while others have constant threats to your hearing. First, consider the jobs with constant hearing loss issues.
Engineering specializations often work with load, constant noise. Aircraft maintenance personnel, for example, need to deal with the load roar of aircraft engines. It doesn't just happen at takeoff; all of the hours working on ship hangars and maintenance buildings on land with engine testing can lead to some significant damage, even with hearing protection. In some cases, the hearing protection is to stop you from having immediate hearing damage. You could still have noticeable hearing problems.
Machining shops that shape and cut metal are areas of constant hearing danger. High-speed cutters and the high frequencies of metals being cut can be piercing, and yet again the hearing protection is simply stopping you from the worst of the damage.
In combat situations, proper protective hearing gear is highly suggested. Unfortunately, split-second survival doesn't always allow you to don a helmet or put in earplugs. If weapon percussion from small arms fire has been in your history or if you've been around mortar explosions, you may have a case. Yes, many others have suffered the same damage. They all qualify for help, and so do you.
Hearing Specialists Can Help In Multiple Ways
Heading into an audiology clinic for hearing loss help is a simple task, but think about how you plan on paying for it. Instead of pushing the idea away immediately, call the hearing loss professional and discuss your situation.
Ask for a consultation and assistance with filing a claim with the Department of Veterans Affairs (known more shortly as the VA). The VA provides disability compensation for service-connected conditions, which are any conditions related to military service. It doesn't matter if you were on duty, off duty, on leave or just a day before you were officially out of the military; if you were in the military, you can claim compensation.
The program also allows for referrals to providers outside of the VA system and can reimburse you for related care prior to being awarded a claim. It also helps the hearing loss professional by giving a consistent client, which is an added incentive to helping you with your hearing loss testing and evidence.
Don't wait another day to work on your claim. The sooner you get started, the sooner you can find hearing aids or other hearing solutions to bring a better sound quality to your ears. Contact a hearing loss professional via websites like http://www.HearDenver.org to discuss your hearing issues and your VA claim evidence.