PN - no humour intended ... my asymmetric response to conversation may well be due to a number of years accompanying a pair of Hercules and a quartet of Centaurus around Europe, Middle East and Africa, so I'm fully aware of the condition.
TTN - Establishing that employment (as above) is the root cause of common physical debilitation is, at best, arguable and quite definitely in a whole different league from, for example, emphysema or asbestosis. At the time when the hearing loss compensation was 'in vogue', I had PVR'd and was working with a number of ex RAF officers who would have (pensions and active pay combined) large incomes by any standard. The enthusiasm with which this sudden bounty was greeted and pursued was, at best, unedifying and, at worst, a reinforcement of the late, unlamented Hilda Margaret's policy of 'greed is good'. It seems to me that the quest for some sort of 'special' recognition for ex members of HM's Forces is, as I wrote, 'tacky' and has nothing to do with entirely justified support for those, whether ex-Service or civilian, who are in genuine need - and, there are far too many of those!!