I just might have to do it....

[Dragon Lady]

I was fighting with my dictation/transcription machine all day today. When I was talking with one of my closest friends who is also a vet and married to a vet on disability; she said that I should get checked out at the VA.

I'm really losing the hearing in my left ear. I'm having a harder time making out the lower tones. I have to use the phone on the right side and with my transcription machine I had to put the headphones on backwards because the sound was only coming out of the right side earpiece.

I think all those years on the flightline permanently destroyed my ability to hear the lower tones. I can't even hear the buzzer on the dryer and it sits directly below the living room in the basement. And this house has very little in the way of insulation. Some of the walls are even missing it. But what do you expect for a house built in the 1930 by the homeowner?

So, when I get back from Seattle, I'll attempt to make an appointment at the VA and see about getting this all checked out.

Of course I am fully expecting that they are going to say there is absolutely nothing wrong. After all that is what they said on my exit physical from active service in 1988.

Alright, just so I know what I'm in for...how long does this process "normally" take? I know many of you have been working on this since you left Viet Nam. But I'm just curious. Is it possible that they will only need the one hearing test to make the determination? Or is that just a wonderful little fairy tale that we all tell our kids to keep them from asking any further questions?

[sn-e3]

DL your in luck I just went through that with the VA from time requested to hearing test 6 weeks a month has gone by since and no further infomation from the VA except the tech said I can't hear squat. just waiting now.

[Dragon Lady]

Chris,

What was that?? Huh?

Hey, we'll see you next week! We have to run over to Bremerton to get the Chief situated with a new pair of dress whites for a memorial service that he has to go to the day after we get home.

So, we should be able to catch up with you and Keith if he is feeling up to it.

Thanks for the info!

[PHO127]

One of the things they will ask you about is ringing in yiur ears, this is tinnitus. Even if you do not qualify for hearing loss if you have tinnitus they will fit you for hearing aid (s) and it helps a lot. Hope you have a great time in Seattle, we really did.

[Dragon Lady]

Wow, thanks!
I honestly hadn't thought of that but yeah it happens alot and it is very annoying. Sometimes even painful. I'll just be sitting there on the couch reading and all of a sudden I hear
Puweeeeeeee really loud.

Oh, wont I take a real ribbing from my husband and friends. I'm already older than they are by at least 6 years!
But that's okay, it goes with becoming a nana!

[melody1181]

We are going through problems like this with my grandpa. We had to wait 2 hours to get a walk in appointment to get a VA doc to make a referal to prove he has hearing problems.....hello!!!! he was a tank crew member. He has pretty much no hearing in his right ear.

I wish you much luck in this. Sometimes, well most times, the VA can be a battle.

[revwardoc]

DL,

Didn't you wear your "Mickey Mouse Ears" on the flightline? I always wore mine and, when I took the ear test for my exit physical, the technician said I must've had a desk job since I passed with flying colors (get it! Air Force! "flying" colors! Never mind.) He was surprised when I told him my MOS.

I know several guys suffered permanent hearing damage trying to be macho and not wearing the "Mickeys", not that I'm accusing you of trying to be macho.

There were many times when guys would complain about not being able to find their "Mickeys", only to be told they were still wearing them! I guess you can get used to just about anything, including big pieces of plastic covering your ears. But get yourself checked out. After all you want to be able to hear your grandkids say, "I love you!"

[Dragon Lady]

Oh I wore ear defenders and even earplugs along with them. My exit exam was passed with flying colors too (and yeah, I got, and I'm letting it go right on by )

But over the past several years the tinitis has grown worse and even at night when I lay down to sleep I can hear a sound in my ears that sounds just like the humming buzz of a computer running. My computer sits on the floor no where near my ears. Sometimes its so loud it drives me nuts. I get up and start looking for a fan or something that I must have left on.

[1CAVCCO15MED]

It took me over a year to get an appointment at the VA for a hearing test. By the time I got it they had already turned me down on hearing loss (punctured eardrum by explosion in Vietnam) because of no evidence.

[MissleMonkey28]

Good luck DL! When my dad went to the va for his hearing i dont think it was that bad, he is fully deaf in one ear now. That must havebeen nice hearing on all the horror stories of VA waits. So hope yours goes as soon as yours.