The Case

Trooper Y was the Driver of a Jackal armoured vehicle. While driving the Jackal, the Jackal Commander was positioned on Trooper Y’s left with the Jackal Gunner positioned above Trooper Y.  Trooper Y was required to angle the Jackal to the right when firing, meaning that the Gunner’s and Commander’s weapons would regularly be firing on his left side, exposing his left ear to significant noise.  

Trooper Y was required to communicate when operating the Jackal and was provided with a communications headset from the Chain of Command. The headset unfortunately did not offer adequate hearing protection. Noise cancelling communication headsets, such as Peltor ear defenders, were available to the MOD but were not provided to Trooper Y. Yellow earplugs had to be inserted in such a way as to allow the radio communications to be heard. 

During a six-month military exercise, Trooper Y was required to drive the Jackal for days at a time every month. Live and blank rounds would be fired from the Jackal and when dismounted, Trooper Y  would fire rounds from an SA80 rifle. On one occasion, Trooper  Y was exposed to the noise from a large explosion approximately 300 – 500 metres away when he was not wearing any hearing protection.  

Following his return from exercise, Trooper Y underwent an audiogram which demonstrated hearing of H1:H3 and he was subsequently diagnosed with noise induced hearing loss and tinnitus.  

Trooper Y was downgraded to Medically Limited  and  was eventually informed that he would be Medically Discharged from the Army as a result of his hearing loss. Trooper Y had expected to serve a full career and become an Instructor for the Jackal vehicles before transferring to the Royal Army Medical Corps but lost his career as a result of his hearing loss.

How JMW Helped

Trooper Y required greater volume on the television and struggled to hear when in a group of people. When using the telephone, he had to hold it to his right ear. He struggled to hear conversations when travelling in the rear of vehicles. His ability to hear sentences in noise had been assessed to have decreased by 45%. His tinnitus was bilateral but worse on the left side. His sleep was affected.  He required hearing aids and a tinnitus pillow.

Trooper Y’s hearing was expected to worsen over time.  He would be unable to apply for many occupations that require normal or near normal pure tone audiometry for entry. He was disadvantaged on the open labour market as a result of his permanent symptoms.