Deafness reported in returning troops

KABUL, Afghanistan, Oct. 30 (UPI) -- Intense noise level in Afghanistan's war zone has caused severe or permanent hearing damage among hundreds of British troops, The Times of London has learned.

The problem has become one of the unpublicized accounts of British military campaign in Afghanistan, reports The Times, adding it draws comparison with those suffered in the two world wars and the Korean War.

The newspaper, which obtained its data through Freedom of Information Act requests to the Ministry of Defense, said it learned about 1-in-10 soldiers with a British regiment in Afghanistan suffers from hearing problems. It said the impairment would bar the soldier from front-line duties and may affect chances for civilian employment.

Some of those who served in Iraq during the 2004 and 2005 campaign against Shiite militants also returned home with hearing damage but what make the Afghan campaign more severe are the roadside bombs, fierce close-combat clashes with the Taliban and the 500-pound bombs dropped by coalition planes, the report said.

The Royal British Legion in the past three years dealt with 1,195 hearing loss claims against the British defense ministry, the report said.

The defense ministry was quoted as saying noise-induced hearing loss is a serious risk, but that earplugs and ear defenders has been issued to all troops. But their usage is not strictly enforced, the report said.