>>30458910
because great ear pro is expensive and everyone loses their cheaper shit

>>30458943
If they would issue it the same way all the other expensive gear is, (with a receipt and serial number) they could just make the user pay for it when it comes time.

>>30458943
Hearing aids and the impact of being deaf as fuck for the rest of your life are more expensive.

Fucking priorities.

>>30458910
They stress hearing protection all the time, people are just lazy and either don't put on their earpro to look cool or they lose it and don't bother getting replacements

>>30458999
Yeah, I worked on the flightline at Kandahar in 2011, they told us -directly- to use our earpro because the VA wasn't going to cover it. I was one of the few to use it, so I don't know how true that statement was, but they damn well stated it.

>25/8 jets taking off
>busiest runway in the world
>niggas not using earpro

>>30458964
if they did that then more people would do what they do now. They avoid using the issued equipment like the fucking plague because the process if you lose ANYTHING is a fucking monster.

people just buy their own shit so they don't have to put up with cif

>>30458910
What?

Seriously though - I have constant ringing in my ears. I was a gunner on a crew served weapon for 2 years. I'm fucking deaf but the Army cleared me as 100% on my exit physical.

>>30459018
Yeah, that was my experience to some extent. We had a good supply guy (reserve unit, if that helps). He told us what items were considered "one time issue" like earpro, glasses, etc. and what stuff had to come back.

We did wind up stealing some rucksacks the army issued us though. They asked us for them back before we went home, we all said we shipped them home already "on accident." Nothing ever came of it, thankfully.

>dat cross-service bureaucracy

>>30459017
I think what gets a lot of people is they don't realize how damaging sitting in a running M1151 or LMTV for hours without hearing protection is either even though it even says so on the vehicles and they just say fuck it

That's why so many people have fucked up hearing and because it's one of the easiest claims to make up at the VA to get paid some disability for the people who cheat the system

>>30458985
i wear my own earpro but thats the ugly truth for you to either cast off and ignore or work with.

the military isn't going to spend good money on good earpro that isn't going to be used and more than likely lost. people in the military aren't going to use the earpro they are given if theres risk of losing it/breaking it/getting it dirty.

i've lost a set of cheap surefire earplugs almost everytime ive gone to the rifle range and i just buy another pair when i get the chance as i've heard that tinnitus is a fucking nightmare

>>30458910
Hearing protection can only get you so far for the various occupations/duties/combat. Take that, and then spread it over either multiple deployments or a career in said duty.

Kind of like thinking an umbrella alone will keep you dry during an extended monsoon season.

>>30459083
They give out ear pro for free at the health clinic without even having to make an appointment where I'm stationed at

>>30459071
one of the battalions here totaled a pickup that belonged to the airforce. I was tasked out to handle the problem (comptroller) and pay the man but the air guys i was talking to just told me to forget about it and hope it went away.

that was about 2 years ago

>>30459077
Yeah, we had the Army's reject M1151s, and we didn't consider those a big deal. However, sitting <100 yards from flights of F16s taking off -literally- 24/7 means they have no real excuse.

>>30459111
In kandahar? Were they cops? (In kandahar, flightline cops wore red armbands, if that helps.)

>>30459135
nah some fuck heads from 8th comm bn or 2nd radio bn

>>30459146
Ah, fuck em lol. When I was there, we had aussies, canucks, and even dutch working the flightline with us. It was pretty cool, actually, lots of uniform trading.

>>30459017
The VA covers it. They have to. Even with ear protection it doesn't prevent all damage ones ears.

>>30459205
I sort of figured, I'm sure it was just a scare tactic by the MSgt to get us to use the damn things.

>>30459236
the VA does cover it but theres no cure. I'd force any fuckers under me to wear shit to save their hearing

>>30459279
He certainly tried, but we were acting as security, two men to a M1151, spread out over a flightline. Hard to enforce it 100%

>>30459146
Probably 8th crime.

>>30459017
Was a 64 guy at KAF as well and ironically the gearing conservation officer. Never wore earpro. Now have tinnitus, which the VA covers in addition to hearing aids.

>>30458964
>>30459018
That's how they do peltors in batt and it works fine, everyone uses them and they're only like 300 bucks if you lose them

>>30459236
Yeah. I mean, suppose you got mortared in the middle of the night? The VA is gonna deny your claim because you didn't sleep with ear pro? They say that shit so you aren't going to medical. They tried telling me when I returned from deployment they wouldn't be able to grant our leave requests if we said we had any potential health issues.

>>30458910
>Why in the fuck isn't hearing protection a bigger priority in combat arms?
same reason hearing loss is so prevalent wherever hearing protection is necessary.
ignorance (don't know hearing loss is cumulative).
arrogance (don't fuckin' care...shit only happens to pussies)

the ear plugs the army issues are shit.

you can't wear them for 5 minutes before they get uncomfortable. dirty earplugs can't go in your ears. unless you want an ear infection. you get tired of screaming all day.

everything in the army is noisy. Aviation, Armor, and Artillery are especially noisy.

hearing loss is just cost of doing business in the military.

I lost some of my hearing in the army. right in those frequencies of human speech. So I have hard times understanding people against a lot of background noise.

>>30459083
>i've lost a set of cheap surefire earplugs almost everytime ive gone to the rifle range
Then there's something wrong with you.

In 20 years of shooting I have never lost so much as a single disposable foam plug. And I'm not festidiously anal about collecting up every piece of gear before leaving, I left a scope on the range once. But it's really simple. Does gun hurt ears? Put plug in. Did hand just pull plug from ears? Put in bag.

I could understand losing an individual plug or two over a lifetime, but repetitive, consistent loss? You're a fucking moron. Don't own guns, you can't even handle plugs.

because you do not wear ear pro in combat..that and the VA handles elderly veterans as well. Where hearing loss is normal for those over 65. The VA provides Hearing Aids and such for them..

>>30459077
No one told me about how damaging vehicle shit was until I was 3 years in.


The numbers of hours spent in LMTVs easily reached into the hundreds at that point.

>>30459475
>, I left a scope on the range
Fucking hell, I bet your squad leader had frequent heart attacks.

>>30458910
But hearing loss is non-compensable.

Tinnitus/Menier's/ruptured eardrums are, but the VA spends less a year on those than they do on their lobbyists.

>>30459505
Been there, done that, brother. My ears whine with loud ringing.

Why don't they all use supressors?

Without the tax stamp, it should be very cheap to make.

>>30459475
You left a scope at the range skippy, you don't have much room to talk.

>>30459564
M4s would cost maybe $600 in the civilian market if it wasn't for the full auto BS.


But the military pays like 2.5k each. Because someone has to get paid/ have a job for when they get out.

>>30459564
would need subsonic ammo and your long range performance suffers.


screw on suppressors or ones that use quick detach fittings?

carry two types of ammo? sub sonics and normal M855a1

>>30459475
ya know i'm very much like you, but we are more the exception and not the rule.
my buddy joe in the army never came to formation with the same pair of gloves, was a damn good soldier nevertheless.

>>30459509
that would be a pretty sad NJP and pay checkage but considering he thinks i'm talking about some chillax own time public range i'm guessing he isn't in the military or he doesn't remember the grab ass gotta-get-home-quick attitude of military range staff

>>30459077
how much are they getting by cheating the system?

Would you look like an ass if you walked around with your sordins or peltors around your neck or at hand at all times if you're deployed?

>>30460835

They aren't cheating the system. You take a hearing test at a private/non-VA clinic (if you claim hearing loss anyway) when you are submitting your VA Claim and they make a determination to give you a rating based on the results of that.

Any sort of "exit" medical exam given by the Army is irrelevant as far as the VA is concerned. Those results are not enough to give or not give someone a rating. Those tests are things the controlling unit requires to "clear" post/army.

>>30461169
>cheating

that who i replied to called it. idk, im not a vet or serving

i just always heard military doesnt pay. just wondered how much you get per month for something minor like hearing damage

>>30461169
Plus the max is 10% for tinnitus.

>>30461227
I get $133 and some change a month for my tinnitus.

I worked on the flight line as well and I would often wear earplugs and a FARP helmet with David Clarkes because I couldn't stand the damn sound of helicopters all god damn day. I was one of the only people to do this though, most people only wore helmets. Even dumber people went without any hearing protection. I think it's just stupid machismo that causes these people to be so fucking ignorant when it comes to your hearing. Being deaf and having tinnitus is so fucking lame I don't know why people don't bother with some ear pro.

11m here, they issued us decent but overused shit that was shitted out so it didnt work well

in retrospect i woulda just brought a gigantic box of soundguard ear plugs and doubled up the way i do now, but i had faith int he equipment

>oops

>>30461169
they put us in a large booth of 8 people, and pulled one guy out

we were all like "damn sux for him", then the examiner came back in and was like "youre all fucking deaf as hell and need followups"

i saw an audiologist who told me i would need, as per what this anon said, to see a REAL audiologist (not some cherry MD captain on post) when i got home

he cleaned out my ears and gave me a pretty thorough battery of tests for several hours. the VA didnt give me anything for hearing loss or tinnitus, and i only filed for it because i was required to in order to clear post. (i didnt have my heart in the claim, nor was i trying to "pull one over") in the end they rated me 70% for PTSD either way, then bumped me up for TDIU)

>>30458910

I made a few guys in my plt laugh when I stopped in the middle of an intense firefight put ear plugs in.

I did it like I would at the range, set my rifle down, bullets whizzing by, with a smile on my face. The guys around me couldn't help but stop and laugh too.

Safety first : )