Army: Hearing Impairment

(asked on 7th December 2021) - View Source

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many army personnel have been medically downgraded as a result of hearing loss in each year for the last 10 years.


Answered by
Leo Docherty Portrait
Leo Docherty
Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
This question was answered on 10th December 2021

The below table presents the number of UK Army personnel who were medically downgraded with an ICD-10 code for Hearing Loss cited as the principal or contributory cause from 1 April 2015 to 1 April 2021. Both principal and contributory causes have been included as it is possible for personnel to be medically downgraded for multiple medical reasons.

The information provided is for Army personnel who have had restrictions (both short term or longer term) as a result of hearing loss which will require a limitation in their military duties. It is a snapshot in time of each year therefore someone who is downgraded at one timepoint can also be included in the count at a later timepoint. The personnel represented in this response may have since had their limitations lifted and returned to their previous levels of medical fitness. Reasons for medical downgrading are only presented from 2015 due to data availability.

Table 1: UK Army1 personnel medically downgraded with Hearing Loss cited as the principal or contributory cause, by year2, from 1 April 2015 to 1 April 2021

Date

Number

1 Apr 15

767

1 Apr 16

896

1 Apr 17

917

1 Apr 18

1,152

1 Apr 19

998

1 Apr 20

1,001

1 Apr 21

1,068

1 Figures includes full time trade trained and serving against requirement.

2 Numbers downgraded for hearing loss as at 1 April in each year.

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