The following letter is posted with permission of both parties involved in the dialog:
Original Message:
Sent: Saturday, November 03, 2001 11:51 AM
I’m an active duty Air Force member with 19 years of active duty. While my specialty is not medically related, (I am an Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician) I have been introduced to the unwonderful world of “military audiology” after I developed severe tinnitus two years ago. I am very happy to have stumbled across your web page and to see that there are professionals in military service who are interested in caring for military members.
When my tinnitus developed I was treated most poorly and negligently by my “health care” providers at my local Air Force Base. The ENT canceled my appointments and at one time didn’t return my calls (against the TRICARE 48 hour rule) he avoided me to his utmost until I gave up on him, which was actually in my best interest. The Audiologist was most negative in me seeking help elsewhere aside from “you’ll just have to live with it.” And likewise, the further I was from her “care” and observation, the better things became!
Luckily, my 19 years of service taught me to be proactive. I researched as much as possible and contacted the American Tinnitus Association–who in turn offered me a list of tinnitus “specialists.” It was here in the civilian community that I received TRT (Tinnitus Retraining Therapy) to my great satisfaction. My out of pocket expenses were around $3,500, which included 2 full days of testing and counseling and white noise generators. Money well spent! While my military ENT who “practices” about one mile from my home would not see me at all after my initial appointment, the TRT practitioner was always available by phone–and sometimes in my distress (and there was alot of it)–the concerned reassuring guidance was most important to my recovery. Something woefully missing form the military ENT/Audiologist.
I write you this letter for several reasons:
- From my experience, the military health care providers are very uneducated regarding tinnitus.
- I am happy to see that there are concerned military health care providers–as reflected in your organization
- I want to inform you of my success while undergoing TRT. Tinnitus which practically destroyed me is nothing more than a noise which I rarely notice, and it causes me no distress.
- Being more “audiologically” aware, I notice that Hearing Conservation has a long way to go. Hearing safety is stressed and practiced only when convenient–my own Safety and Biomedical personnel were not committed to addressing hazardous work environments. They were more concerned in not upsetting the base chain of command. Our base, which has noise complaints from the local community, wasn’t willing to admit to a “noise” related injury. It’s a shame when the medical personnel can’t separate politics from care. If this dereliction is the standard, then God help us. We don’t need more enemies then we have.
And please, please, inform your members, that a military person suffering from severe tinnitus is not an inconvenience, or a malingerer. We didn’t get this from raping and pillaging but from faithful discharging of our military duties (as in my 19 years of explosives work) I believe the military “family” needs to support each other, starting with the health care providers.
Thank you for reading this letter,
MSgt “Mike”
Reply From: Chandler, David COL WRAMC-Wash DC
Sent: Friday, November 16, 2001 1:10 PM
Dear AF MSgt:
Thank you for your recent correspondence and for your candor in sharing a most frustrating problem. After 23 years of experience, I appreciate that your situation is common to many and is likely just the “tip of the iceberg”.
Army Audiology has long recognized the inadequacy of tinnitus treatment–not only within DoD Healthcare Facilities–but across the profession. Physicians are frustrated by the fact that they can’t objectively “examine” tinnitus, and it’s hard to hit what you can’t see. Subsequently, many physicians and audiologists have a poor understanding of how to deal with problematic tinnitus. This is why our Center is pursuing a research project with U of Maryland Medical School to investigate the use of TRT at 3 major DoD medical centers across the US (WRAMC, Wilford Hall, and San Diego Naval).
I will use your email, along with similar accounts from others, to further underscore the importance of pursuing this project. Hopefully, your situation will be of benefit to another service member in the future. Thank you again for your correspondence.
COL David Chandler
Director, Army Audiology & Speech Center
Walter Reed Army Medical Center
202-782-6644