Tinnitus and Helicopters
If anyone out there has tinnitus or just has some thoughts on the subject I'd be very interested to hear from them.
I started getting tinnitus a few years ago after long days in the aircraft and now I'm at the point where I have it permanently. After starting to talk about it, I was amazed at how many colleagues seem to suffer from it too.
So is it a condition surprisingly common in the helicopter world? Perhaps due to our close proximity to the engines in the cockpit, vibration, time spent on ramps etc.?
Are there many heli guys out there suffering from it? Has anyone ever had any trouble getting a medical because of it? Has it ever affected anyone's flying? Do you think the importance of minding your hearing around aircraft is really spelt out to students when they start training?