Tinitus

[ABI]

Anyone else get it

[ABI]

Must be just me then!!

[El Prez]

I was grounded due to tinnitus, bilateral, 4 and 8 khz at 39 decibels. Party time in the head day in and day out!
If you need help or just info PM me as it has a nasty edge.

[Sticky Blue]

Nasty edge?? What edge is that?

[Andy O'Pray]

Having been HW most of my career I have put up with the constant ringing in my ears. Reminds me of a guy, Harry Issat, who let fly with a 120mm from his wombat in Dhala with no ear defenders, needless to say it did not do his ear drums any good. When attending a specialist appointment Harry was asked what he heard on waking up in the morning. Like birds singing, says Harry. Birds do sing in the morning, says the specialist. Not in the middle of f!@#$ing Birmingham they don't, says Harry.

Aye - Andy

[Rotary Booty]

ABI

Sorry I didn't reply earlier, but I had to look it up. Like Andy, I was Heavy Weapons, and like Rob, a heli pilot. My hearing was always border line, and I now have a War Pension for being high tone deaf. The dictionary definition of Tinnitus is, 'Noises heard in the ears not due to external stimulation by sound waves.' I certainly get that, but mine isn't permanent like Rob's seems to be. Maybe mine isn't.
They told me there is no treatment, but luckily it doesn't seem to be getting any worse.

It is only of benefit when I don't want to hear someone!

[Sticky Blue]

Pardon?

Tinitus is a nasty thing to have, my dad gets it a lot as he was the sightsetter on the gun on a T boat submarine. He also gets a war pension for that and the rhemetism he suffers from being under the oggin for long periods in the damp.

[Rotary Booty]

Sticky, (sorry about this!) (No offence intended.)

He should have waited until it surfaced!

[Sticky Blue]

Nice one centurion! Like it. I'm still laughing...
Funny you should say that but they didn't! The hatch opened whilst still underwater and they were mounting the gun (Go on Prez there is an inuendo there for you) in a bubble of air. When they surfaced they were all in position and had the sights set straight away and got the first round away before being spotted. From periscope standards showing to the first round away it took 17 seconds. I wish he'd come out of cloak mode and post on here as he has some stonking dits.

[voodoo sprout]

No treatment? I distinctly remember on some TV program a while ago (Tomorrows world I think) they showed a device which temporarily stopped it. You program it with the noise that the person hears, then press it against the ear and so the tinitus stops for a while, perhaps it's still in research?

[ABI]

Blimey, no posts for 24 hours then a flood all at once.

My medical on leaving the forces indicated that the hearing in my left ear was a lot worse than my right, I now get high a pitched ringing or whistle sound in my head. It's not constant, only once in a while and it's lasts for a couple of minutes. Overall though I do have trouble hearing certain high pitch sounds (the timer on the cooker is an example)

My better half is a nurse and confimed that it was tinitus just after leaving the mob, I also mentioned it to my GP about five years ago but her test (she hit me on the knee with a hammer) showed it wasn't that bad!!

I've learnt to live with it, as I don't notice it until it happens. Got a mate in the Met who was top plod in is intake but his med records turned up from the Army and they nearly booted him out because his hearing was that bad. He put a claim in and got a lump sum pay off and a monthly payout for life from the MOD!!!

Couldn't do it myself, see it as an occupational hazard. C'est la vie.

[El Prez]

Couldn't do it myself, see it as an occupational hazard. C'est la vie

.
It is a hazard, and that is why they will pay a pension and lump sum for having been exposed to the hazard. Off high horse. If you have experienced damage due to service life then claim; there's a whole miscellany of things that can go wrong, and many don't happen immediately. If you don't claim then the problem, as far as the MOD is concerned does not exist. Have a scan through the Military Finance - Pensions pages at the bottom of the main page.
Re Tinnitus. I was alone with mine and didn't know what was happening to me. It robbed me of sleep, ruined a social life, and made me irritable(more than usual). As soon as I knew what it was I was able to attempt to adapt.
There appear to be three progressive stages to the damage. Some medical personnel dispute this, others enthusiastically endorse it!
1) The nerves and hair follicles in the inner ear become damaged. If the injury is severe this is permanent. Despite withdrawal from the noise environment there is no internal noise reduction. There may also be associated hearing loss.
2) Due to the hair follicles and nerves being damaged there is a gradual progression towards balance disorder, akin to Meniere's disease. This is known as vestibular dysfunction. The MOD ENT specialists disclaim this progression, claiming it is not due to service life.
3) If the injury is severe, and exposure to noise continues then the third phase is epilepsy.
I have been at phase 2 for some years now. I can't ride a motorbike anymore, fish in a river or boat (too dangerous). I reel about the place if I turn suddenly and experience disorientation. I can however, just get on with life. The scope for hilarity is enormous.
I worked with a guy who suffered all three phases, because he didn't stop flying, the onset of 2 and 3 was extremely rapid. He lost his pilots and driving licences immediately, so the consequences of not protecting yourself are severe.

[ABI]

Prez

Point taken, when I saw my GP she informed me that it was not serious enough to warrant a claim, and to be honest I don't think it's that bad myself. Don't get me wrong I'm not falling on my sword here, but compared to some people what I have is a minor problem.

Apart from the symptoms I described above I don't notice it at all until it happens, infact the reason I posted in the first place was that I had a three or four minute spell while I was browsing the forum and thought it would make for an interesting post.

Thanks for the advice and comments, I do keep a watch on it and if the spells get longer or intensify I'll be down the quacks ASAP.

Cheers

[El Prez]

No probs, just a tad grumpy first thing this morning. The amount of people who will not make a claim is amazing. if you have a problem make a claim. If they throw it out it doesn't matter, it is documented; so that later in life, when it does develop you will have a history you can turn to and say 'Told you so'. The cash may make a difference when your system/body lets you down.

[Rotary Booty]

ABI

I thought mine wasn't that bad, but I was 'encouraged' to register anyway. Funny old thing, I was awarded a WP.

Huge coincidence. An oppo of many years, who was also on the same flying course and is ex-Heavy Weapons, rang me a few days ago for the address of the Veterans Agency at Norcross in Blackpool. He's having hearing problems, and wished he had registered when he retired the same as I did. I really enjoyed the, 'I told you so'!

(Incidentally, his son Mike, Capt RM, is now on HMS Ocean flying Sea Kings in support of the lads.)

They advise registration, 'even if you do not feel you have a serious problem at the moment, but may do in the future' That's their quote!

They arrange the medical at a centre close to where you live, and your condition is on record and monitored.

ABI, do it!