We have all heard about the troops that had to find ways to buy their own body armor or to armor plate their vehicles and now another violation of the soldiers well being has come to light.

Thousands of GIs have suffered preventable hearing loss because they were not supplied with earplugs to reduce the din of battle. Many have a permanent ringing in their ears they will suffer throughout their lives.

The condition is widespread. In 2006, the Veterans Administration paid out more than a half billion dollars to veterans with tinnitus, a condition which affects nearly half of those troops exposed to blasts.

The US Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine conducted a study 141,000 GIs between April, 2003, and March, 2004, that showed tinnitus – ringing in the ears – accounted for more than 30 per cent of post-deployment-related diagnoses.

According to an article in the February 9th issue of The New Yorker, from which the data for this article is taken, author Jerome Groopman writes, “the Pentagon had failed to anticipate the kind of hearing-protection devices that were needed. Even soldiers who were provided with earplugs were given insufficient instruction in their use; mistakenly believing that the earplugs could interfere with low-frequency sounds, like whispered commands during search-and-destroy operations, many chose not to use them.”

When governments want their citizens to fight their wars they appeal to their patriotism. How little some regimes truly care about their people as human beings, though, is shown by the many troops they send into battle with insufficient protection for their bodies and their vehicles, and also if they deny them their deserved care and compensation upon their return home.

Yet more UNACCEPTABLE conduct of the government toward the troops…somewhere, somehow there has got to be a place to stop this blatant disregard of the physical welfare of the troops.  It will be interesting to see how the government worms its way out of being held accountable for the damage it inflicts on its soldiers…make NO mistake if the can…they WILL!