Personal Narrative: My Experience With Hearing Loss

229 Words1 Pages
I am submitting a claim for Hearing Loss due to noise exposure while I was on active duty in Vietnam, 1970-71. As an Intelligence Staff Officer assigned to a five-man MACV District Advisory Team, I was stationed at an ARVN base in Duc Hoa, Vietnam, where I was subjected to noise from both incoming and outgoing artillery—as well as small arms fire, grenades, and RPGs—on a regular basis. During my tour I was also exposed to bombs dropped near the base by the Vietnamese Air Force. Finally, my duties as an advisor required me to fly to locations in a Bell UH-1 "Huey" Helicopters for reconnaissance missions , where I was exposed the loud noises of the aircraft and its armaments through the open door. Ear protection on such missions was never provided.