Publicity over hearing challenges for service personnel is becoming increasingly commonplace. Soldiers are returning from operations with hearing difficulties, sometimes being rendered unable to return to theatre due to damage to their hearing caused by exposure to excessive loud noise while deployed.rnHowever, the scenario is not new, but the MoD emphasises that work is being done to improve circumstances for those currently on operations. With weapons fire, exploding ordnance, large vehicle movements, air patrols and any number of other loud noises, high volumes and combat zones are intrinsically linked. Yet this problem can be dated back decades or even centuries. For instance, cannons on 18th Century ships and artillery during even the First World War would certainly have been loud enough to cause hearing damage. So many years later, it might be considered perfectly reasonable to wonder why hearing problems are still beingrnfaced by soldiers today. One might ask: in our technological age, why hasn't a solution been found?
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