Review of Knowledge and Attitude of Infantry Soldiers to Hearing Conservation

The article presented a clear and concise measure of the attitudes among combat arms soldiers. The message was that soldiers were ignorant of Hearing Conservation Programs (HCP) in the British army. With noise levels of 90 decibels (dB) were enough to cause hearing damage. The infantry units are regularly exposed to levels ranging from 145 to 200 dB, enough to cause hearing impairment to a high percentage of soldiers. The report estimates that only 22% knew about a military hearing conservation program. The majority (91%) of troops said that their reasons for not wearing hearing protection or use them improperly was due to personal experiences in firearm training and in combat. These figures point to an audience of probationers, pointing to the need for a stronger and more ambitions HCP.

The article did not touch on racial or cultural issues; it had to do with a systemic problem related to the inadequacies of the present HCP. The language of the article was general enough in words and efficient in expounding without becoming too cumbersome. This report translates especially well in the promotion and advocacy of awareness within the military community. The problem has a coupling of many issues that engender the social worker in systemic solutions that would be outside the scope of many professions.

The soldier firing their weapons in many different atmospheres evokes a situation where extreme conditions could foster greater advancement in the research and study of hearing loss, hearing loss prevention and tinnitus. This many perspectives enables a person-in-environment look at the complete problem, from the extremes of combat to the monotony of the firing range. The social worker has been trained to look at the issue from a micro to a macro investigation of presenting problems. The article points out glaring inefficiencies within the militaries HCP. A social worker would be able to encompass and envision solutions from a multi-perspective view, enabling holistic approaches from individual treatments, to improved hearing conservation education and revamping the HCP from the inside out.