Social norms of hearing protection use in Canadian army over time

Future

Present

Past (WWII)

Disabilities of the auditory system (e.g. tinnitus and hearing loss) were the third most common type of injury, accounting for nearly 10% of total disabilities among WW II veterans

Some army men chose to use cottons balls, their fingers or paper to protect themselves, but it was highly ineffective

Many veterans receive pensions as compensations for noise induced hearing loss and tennitis as a result of WWII unsafe practices

The majority of soldiers had no form of hearing protection at all

Many soldiers do not wear theirprotective hearing devices due to insufficient training and lack of enforcement

47% report that their workplace was often or constantly noisy & 59% said that the noise to which they are exposed was moderate or severe

27% of soldiers believed their hearing had become moderately or much worse since joining the Canadian Forces

No policies or regulations to enforce the use of hearing protective devices

The greater proportion of the sample (82%) had either received no training or one hour or less on the dangers of noise exposure

After the return of WW II veterans,research investigating the relationship between hearing loss and war environments began

Laboratory sleep studies show with increases in the level of taped traffic noise, the number of awakenings increasedby 40% and the probability of a decrease to a lighter sleep stage increased by 70%

50% of the sample judged their training on the dangers associated with noise exposure as either negligible or poor quality

Policies are developed mandating the use of protective hearing devices

19% of surveyed Canadian soldiers agreed that hearing protectors are not beneficial 50% believed that they would interfere with hearing

17% of the 80% who claimed to be exposed to some noise indicated that they never wore hearing protection devices in noise

89% of surveyed soldiers received either no training or one hour or less on the proper use of hearing protection devices

Decrease Department of Defence expenditures on compensation

Increase the rate of soldiers wearing hearing protection during training and combat to 90%

Increased training on how to properly use hearing protection

Less veterans suffering with social isolation and loneliness

Improved veteran reintegration into society

Decreased adverse effects of hearing loss (blood pressure, loss of sleep, depression, etc)

Social norms of hearing protection use in the Canadian army over time

Do you want to reap the rewards of protecting your soldiers?

See Glog 3