The Department of Defense (DOD) is allocating $50 million toward research into tinnitus, a common affliction among veterans.

The number of Americans suffering from tinnitus is 12 million and growing, with war veterans among those most commonly afflicted with the bothersome phantom noises in the ears. About half of the returning soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from tinnitus.

The DOD at the Pentagon finds the tinnitus issue of such concern it is planning a drastic increase in research into tinnitus and tinnitus treatment over 10 years.

Loud explosions and excessive noise from war machinery is causing tinnitus among the soldiers, according to Andrew Cheng, an ear, nose, and throat specialist at New York Medical College.

The number of tinnitus cases is increasing among the civilian population too, particularly in the younger people. Cheng cites the use of MP3 players and cell phones as main culprits.

Source: Detroit News

[Source: hear it]