I enlisted in the Royal Canadian Navy 23 Nov 1961 as a SigSea261.My enlistment medical had my hearing as H1. On my retirement medical March 2nd 1986 it was showed signs of deterioration. I contribute this hearing loss to be caused by my unprotected noise pollution during my service career. These occurrences happened many times over my service career. The contributing factors (which I believe to be the cause), I will list in no particular order or date as the noise pollution happened over my 25yr career.
1. Smalls training I was required to qualify and re-qualify every two years. I am a right-handed person and when I was firing these weapons, the gun barrel was against my right shoulder, which caused loud explosions into my right ear. This caused temporary ringing in my right ear and some deafness. This was re-occurring event and was done without proper ear protection.…show more content… As a SigSig262 I was required to stand visual watch on the bridge and flag deck. During these 4hr watches many naval gun shoots were conducted with the forward 4inch gun and later posting with the 3inch50 gun. I was not given any ear protection for any of the shoots and the explosions were ear aching noises, which left ringing and temporary deafness in both ears. This was a recurring event during my career.
3. During my posting to HMCS Lanark (1961-1962) I was a member of the communicators Bofor gun team. These anti aircraft guns fired 40mm bullets, which were quite loud and sharp explosions. This would cause my ears to ache and ring for several minutes after shooting. This was done without ear protection.
