Veterans Soldiering On. Hazel Goedhart and Markku Vesala

Rather than asking ourselves what the experience of veterans with tinnitus is like, we started asking ourselves why—in spite of the fact that tinnitus is among the top two most common health complaints among veterans (hearing loss is the other)— this problem is not talked about more?

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Soldiering On

Why veterans may keep mum about hearing health conditions. By Hazel Goedhart and Markku Vesala

When we put out a call through our Tinnitus Hub newsletter asking for stories from veterans with tinnitus, we did not expect it to be such a challenge. Only a handful came forward with written responses, and we only managed to speak to one veteran directly. A search through our online support forum, Tinnitus Talk, which contains tens of thousands of personal stories, including many about work-related hearing injuries, also yielded a surprisingly low number of stories from veterans, no more than a handful.

So, rather than asking ourselves what the experience of veterans with tinnitus is like, we started asking ourselves why—in spite of the fact that tinnitus is among the top two most common health complaints among veterans (hearing loss is the other)—this problem is not talked about more?

Not all tinnitus is equal, of course, but tinnitus can be a debilitating condition. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) expenditures illustrate the depth and severity of tinnitus as a health condition among veterans. In 2017, about 1.79 million veterans received compensation for tinnitus, a greater number of recipients than for hearing loss alone. The vast majority of these veterans also suffer from conditions like anxiety and depression.

On top of the other health issues veterans often face, both physical and mental, tinnitus can have a deep impact on quality of life. Harry, a Vietnam veteran, told us by email that he has a hearing loss with severe tinnitus: “I have lived all these years with that constant LOUD ringing in both ears. It drives me crazy. I can’t sleep, talk on the telephone, or hear anybody if there is the slightest background noise.”

Not talking about tinnitus may also be due in part to this particular population. According to Col. John T. Dillard, U.S. Army (Ret.), the chair of Hearing Health Foundation’s Board of Directors, there seems to be something of a “warrior ethos” to not complain or reveal weakness. This is corroborated by Kane McGrath, a former U.S. Army specialist with whom we spoke on the phone. He does not talk with his army peers about health issues and believes that many veterans are afraid to speak out and show vulnerability.

Understandable as these attitudes may be, the silence also means that suffering caused by tinnitus will continue. Significant investments in research to find effective treatments or cures for tinnitus are needed. Expenditures on compensation payments are apparently not enough of an incentive alone to create the political will and funding required. A concerted lobbying effort, empowered by the voices of those veterans yearning for silence, is needed.

Harry, the Vietnam vet mentioned above, told us, “I keep praying that a cure for tinnitus will come along before I die so I might experience at least one day of quiet.” To do this, let’s make some (virtual) noise to raise more awareness and increase funding for tinnitus research.

Hazel Goedhart is a director and the chief strategist for the U.K.-based organization Tinnitus Hub, founded by Markku Vesala. For more, see tinnitushub.com and tinnitustalk.com. For references, see hhf.org/fall2020-references.