Skip main navigation

Military Health System

Clear Your Browser Cache

This website has recently undergone changes. Users finding unexpected concerns may care to clear their browser's cache to ensure a seamless experience.

Skip subpage navigation

Vision and Hearing Loss Prevention

Hearing and vision are critical senses.  Service members must be able to see, hear, and communicate in order to achieve their mission safely and effectively, engage with their families, and connect with their communities.

Military personnel are routinely exposed to sensory hazards in combat, training, and by exposure to potentially hazardous conditions on and off duty. Hearing and vision injuries are detrimental to force readiness, attrition, retention, and replacement. Degraded hearing or vision can impact your mission fitness, and service members should treat their eye and ear health like any other physical tool they develop and protect.

We're committed to protecting the vision and hearing health of our service members and veterans, giving them the best opportunity to maintain fitness for duty and the quality of life they deserve!

Protect Your Hearing

It's a noisy world and protecting your hearing is essential, not only for your life in the military but for your relationships in your personal life as well. Check out these links from the DOD's Hearing Center of Excellence to understand hearing loss and how you can prevent it:

Protect Your Vision

There are nearly 2,000 eye injuries occurring in the U.S. each day and almost all of these injuries can be prevented. Check out these links from the DOD's Vision Center of Excellence to understand eye injuries and how you can prevent them:

You also may be interested in...

Article
Jul 8, 2021

Ask the Doc: Eye Need Answers

Senior Airman Mitchel Delfosse, 22nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron electrical environmental system journeyman, attends an eye exam appointment Jan. 30, 2020, at McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas. Maj. (Dr.) Gerardo Robles-Morales, 22nd Operational Medical Readiness Squadron optometry flight commander, recommends an eye exam a minimum of every two years to ensure overall eye health and correct vision. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Alexi Bosarge)

Dear Doc: I consider myself pretty lucky. I'm in my late 20s and I've never had any eye problems to speak of. I have 20/20 vision and I've never worn glasses. But...the Air Force tells me to protect my eyes and I'm not exactly sure what that means. Do you know anyone who can give me some solid advice on the best options for eye protection? What ...

Last Updated: July 11, 2023
Follow us on Instagram Follow us on LinkedIn Follow us on Facebook Follow us on X Follow us on YouTube Sign up on GovDelivery