Hearing Loss
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
I can remember exactly but it was an award of, say £4,500. I was then reassessed at 20% as you say, but as it was more than 3 years after the initial award there was no 'mark time'. Had it been after a year then the pension payment would have been deferred until year 3.
Two points AFAIR, you must submit your application within 6 months of receiving the application forms. Any award is backdated to the date of submission. It is not quick, my present application was submitted before Christmas.
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Balmullo,Scotland
Posts: 932
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
I contacted the Veterans Hearing Help. I contacted them yesterday and received the application pack today. From their website:
Samantha and Ben Bennett began the UK Veterans Hearing Help in response to Ben's subsequent hearing loss from his 13 years in the Royal Artillery. When Ben at 43 years of age started to struggle with the volume of the TV, and in groups of people, Sam, who was already a Hearing Aid Audiologist with their children (also Audiologists) diagnosed Ben with a high-frequency hearing loss which affected his clarity. They quite quickly fitted Ben with hearing aids with the support of a manufacturer and when Sam and Ben went to the next reunion, a lot of Bens’ colleagues commented on his hearing aids and their issues.
I think they oversee your application to the RBL Veterans Hearing Fund. The service is free to us and they probably cost their costs from the profit margin on the hearing aids.
The RBL VHF is funded with £13m from Libor Scandal. It is drawn down over 5 years. In two years over 1,000 veterans have received help. That £13m will not last more than the 5 years at that rate.
Apparently the process is slow and can take a year.
Samantha and Ben Bennett began the UK Veterans Hearing Help in response to Ben's subsequent hearing loss from his 13 years in the Royal Artillery. When Ben at 43 years of age started to struggle with the volume of the TV, and in groups of people, Sam, who was already a Hearing Aid Audiologist with their children (also Audiologists) diagnosed Ben with a high-frequency hearing loss which affected his clarity. They quite quickly fitted Ben with hearing aids with the support of a manufacturer and when Sam and Ben went to the next reunion, a lot of Bens’ colleagues commented on his hearing aids and their issues.
I think they oversee your application to the RBL Veterans Hearing Fund. The service is free to us and they probably cost their costs from the profit margin on the hearing aids.
The RBL VHF is funded with £13m from Libor Scandal. It is drawn down over 5 years. In two years over 1,000 veterans have received help. That £13m will not last more than the 5 years at that rate.
Apparently the process is slow and can take a year.
Last edited by Pontius Navigator; 15th May 2019 at 20:13.
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Odiham
Posts: 170
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I joined in 1993 and have flown helicopters since then until 6 years ago. My hearing started heading downhill in 2002 until now when I am MLD as a result, after a downgrade in 2016 FFS..... and H ‘very bad’ in each ear (high tone/speech range) diagnosed by RAF doctors and recorded as NIHL. I guess 3 years on Pumas and 15 years on Chinooks will do that (almost all Pre-CEPs). Funnily enough since I stopped flying and started staff work in earnest any further hearing loss has been considered age related.... think I have a case? Should I flag it now or wait for retirement aged 60, though? Also does anyone have a letter/note that was written years ago about the SH 4B4L helmet Pre CEPs and how bad they were at noise reduction?
'The acoustic attenuation of the Mk4 flying helmet...' Royal Aircraft Establishment Technical Memorandum FS171 HMSO 1978. (GM Rood - Dr Graham Rood).
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Odiham
Posts: 170
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thank you. Tried to Google that but it didn’t come up as a search result.... a QQ study did though, which is also useful!
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: North of Watford, South of Watford Gap
Age: 68
Posts: 251
Likes: 0
Received 2 Likes
on
1 Post
Rood's Tech Memo is available in the National Archives https://discovery.nationalarchives.g...ls/r/C13521897
Hearing loss as a result of working in or around aircraft is something that the RAF has been aware of since at least the early 1960's. Some time back whilst working on Human Factors at Cranfield Uni. I came across a medic who had worked on a project at Farnborough looking into this problem. As far as he could remember this was either 1961/2. The project concluded that whilst most jets of the period were capable of damaging hearing the worst by far was the Gloster Javelin. This was apparently something to do with the harmonics created by the Sapphire engines mounted side by side.
Engine runs on Comet twos created a "blue note" and as a very junior radar mec on the shift it always fell to me to man the fire bottles so lots of noise there. And then Hunter avpin starts, like a lot of you the list is endless.
Last edited by cliver029; 16th May 2019 at 09:20. Reason: Too many commas,,
Mk4 helmet passive attenuation
Try asking MoD for the noise measurement reports of each aircraft/environment that were carried out many yonks ago. Depending on the Trainer/Simulator, you should always remember take into account hours there, as many are designed to reproduce aircraft noise.
My advice would be to speak to QinetiQ at Farnborough. They hold all MoD data. 01252 395496. Ask for the Human Acoustics Technical Leader. She's brilliant.
Try asking MoD for the noise measurement reports of each aircraft/environment that were carried out many yonks ago. Depending on the Trainer/Simulator, you should always remember take into account hours there, as many are designed to reproduce aircraft noise.
My advice would be to speak to QinetiQ at Farnborough. They hold all MoD data. 01252 395496. Ask for the Human Acoustics Technical Leader. She's brilliant.
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
Veterans Hearing Update
I had contacted them on 14th May and was warned it was a slow process and could take a year. I contacted the Veterans' Agency for a copy of my original award and was told they were very busy and it could take some time.
Yesterday I was contacted and have an appointment on 4 June.
Yesterday I was contacted and have an appointment on 4 June.
If you wear hearing aids, you are eligible for a Disabled Persons Railcard; apply through the Railcard website. You need to provide proof of necessity for hearing aids (issue from NHS or private purchase receipt). Mine saves me around 30% on fares. Go for it!
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
They do not need their own card.
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
Probably worse was our school's indoor .22 range, where the crack of several .22 Martini or Lee-Enfields being fired simultaneously echoed around the concrete walls...
At least at a full-bore range, the sound dissipated quicker.
At least at a full-bore range, the sound dissipated quicker.
Join Date: Feb 2019
Location: West Country
Posts: 30
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Surely virtually every member of the armed forces could claim as they all would have heard shooting.
Gentlefolk let me ask you - how do you think tank crews and artillery men would have responded to the question?
Gentlefolk let me ask you - how do you think tank crews and artillery men would have responded to the question?
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
As aircrew had to undergo an annual medical their healthy was monitored more closely than non aircrew. As flying pay depended on maintenance of one's medical category aircrew did whatever they could to avoid the witch doctor. However once the inevitable occurred your condition was recorded, assessed, and monitored regularly.
I was naturally upset at being downgraded to A2. However on one particular sortie my colleague, ex-Shacks even, could hear chatter on one of the VHF Channels which no one else on the crew could hear. Volume controls worked most of the time but that proved I had significant hearing loss.
Noise damage applied not just to aircrew or engineers but to people near the aircraft noise. Workers near aircraft operations needed hearing protection too but never got it. I suspect many never knew they had noise induced hearing loss and were eligible for help.
Originally Posted by Pontius Navigator
However on one particular sortie my colleague, ex-Shacks even, could hear chatter on one of the VHF Channels which no one else on the crew could hear. Volume controls worked most of the time but that proved I had significant hearing loss.
Noise damage applied not just to aircrew or engineers but to people near the aircraft noise. Workers near aircraft operations needed hearing protection too but never got it. I suspect many never knew they had noise induced hearing loss and were eligible for help.
Noise damage applied not just to aircrew or engineers but to people near the aircraft noise. Workers near aircraft operations needed hearing protection too but never got it. I suspect many never knew they had noise induced hearing loss and were eligible for help.
Agree about groundcrew. Just needed a little more work as their headgear had different size earshells. (Bearing in mind at the time anything in-ear was rejected out of hand by OR). The main problem was logistical, but the digital system which was ready in 2000 would have mostly cracked that, as much of the support would then be common with aircrew. They were included in the proposed pan-MoD Staff Requirement in 1996, but powers that be didn't proceed.