Military Veterans with Hearing Loss Project

By Bonnie O'Leary

Editor: I think most of us are aware that many of our returning veterans are suffering from hearing loss. The folks at NTID have established a program to assist them, and they presented this great workshop at the HLAA Convention.

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This session was presented by Alan Hurwitz, President of NTID, along with Allen Ford, Project Coordinator. This project was designed especially for veterans who have suffered hearing loss as a result of their military service.

The Veterans with Hearing Loss program is a coordinated effort of the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), and the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID). RIT has been designated a "Yellow Ribbon" college, which allows veterans who have served since 9/11/01 to receive additional financial assistance for tuition, as well as existing veterans' benefits for housing and textbooks. The Military Veterans with Hearing Loss Project plans to admit recent, honorably discharged veterans with hearing loss who can earn bachelor or graduate-level degrees from NTID at RIT with access services, such as real-time captioning and notetaking in the classroom.

Demographics and Statistics

According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, loss of hearing is a common disability for veterans. More than 46,700 veterans from Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom have reported permanent hearing loss as a result of exposure to gunfire and explosions during their tours of service. From overall post-9/11 conflict demographics, of the 299,585 veterans in VA health care, the number one disability is tinnitus, which affects 94,000 veterans. The number two disability is hearing loss, which affects 78,000 veterans. Exposure to continuous sound at more than 85 decibels or to 140 decibels for any length of time can damage hearing. A rifle can produce 160 decibels of sound. On average, men and women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan have served more combat time than in any other US military conflict.

Sixty eight percent of our veterans are wounded in action by blasts or by improvised explosive devices. Auditory and vestibular symptoms associated with blast injuries include earache, tinnitus, dizziness and vertigo, distorted hearing, auditory processing disorders, loudness sensitivity, hyperacusis, aural fullness, and hearing impairment. Of the 72% of our service men and women who return to Iraq and Afghanistan, 35% already have hearing loss, and some have had additional injuries.

This group of veterans is demographically different from previous generations. They are younger, more disciplined, and are technologically savvy. They reflect a wide range of tastes and preferences, and have varying family dynamics, education and employment.

Benefits of the Military Veterans with Hearing Loss Project

For qualified veterans, RIT, through NTID, will provide educational access services, including note-taking and C-Print(r) captioning services. They will also provide audiology services which will include cochlear implant mapping. NTID has 14 audiologists to work with the veterans who have a 70dB loss or greater.

Counseling will be offered to matriculated veterans with hearing loss. RIT and NTID will partner with local Veterans Center, VA Outpatient, VR & E and other veteran-based organizations to complement services offered to matriculated veterans. And they will offer cooperative work and placement services to assist in securing employment. RIT and NTID are also partnering with the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA), www.hlaa.org. HLAA will offer free membership to the veterans in the program.

The project hopes to enroll 10 veterans in 2010, the pilot year, increasing each year until there are 50 veterans enrolled in 2014. However, the project will take as many qualified applicants as want to come.

To learn more about Veterans with Hearing Loss, visit www.rit.edu/ntid/veterans

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