4 Health Problems Facing Veterans
Army personnel work tirelessly to protect the nation. But their time spent on the battlefield comes with a deep cost. While a handful of veterans often succumb to the injuries sustained on the battlefield, many return home bearing invisible wounds.
Revisiting the Iraq war, reports suggest that many veterans returned home with physical and mental wounds that no treatment can erase. On the battlefield, they are exposed to toxic chemicals, explosions, gunfires, and infectious diseases.
No wonder they experience a host of health issues upon returning stateside. Having said that, we’ll discuss a few health issues that affect veterans.
#1 Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, is much more prevalent among veterans than civilians. Around seven out of 100 veterans have PTSD at some point or the other in their lives.
Oddly enough, PTSD is considerably more prevalent in female veterans than in male veterans. Thirteen out of 100 female veterans are diagnosed with PTSD. That’s a shocking number.
There’s no denying that traumatic war zone events are the major contributor to PTSD. But that isn’t the only cause of depression in veterans. Factors like politics around the war and the type of enemy faced may also contribute to PTSD.
Besides combat traumas, post-deployment and traumatic deployment precipitate PTSD. As a matter of fact, PTSD is three times more probable in deployed veterans compared to others that weren’t.
Military sexual trauma (MST) is another cause of post-traumatic stress disorder among veterans. MST refers to the sexual assault or harassment that occurs when people serve in the armed forces. MST can happen to anyone, irrespective of gender, and at any time, be it training, war, or peacetime.
#2 Parkinson’s Disease
Many members of the armed forces aren’t aware that serving their country could increase their risk of Parkinson’s disease. Of course, not every veteran develops Parkinson’s. But if we go by a recent study by NIH, about 110,000 veterans are living with this progressive disorder.
In veterans, Parkinson’s disease can show up decades, if not years, after military service. The most obvious signs of this progressive brain disorder among veterans are tremors or shaking of the body, tight or stiff muscles, and balance issues.
Certain chemicals have been linked to Parkinson’s in veterans. Case in point– trichloroethylene (TCE), an industrial degreasing solvent that contaminated the water supply at Camp Lejeune between 1953 and 1987. Besides TCE, tetrachloroethylene (PCE), benzyl, vinyl chloride, and 70 other contaminants were found in the water supply of Camp Lejeune, reports TorHoerman Law.
Camp Lejeune is a Marine Corps base in North Carolina, where the water supply was contaminated with toxins for decades. Military personnel, other staff members, and their families were unknowingly exposed to these toxins.
Due to the exposure to TCE and other toxic chemicals, many veterans developed Parkinson’s. Fortunately, victims can now pursue a Camp Lejeune compensation claim and receive lucrative settlements, which could exceed $1 million, depending on the case’s severity.
#3 Traumatic Brain Injury
Over 430,000 armed forces personnel sustained a traumatic brain injury between 2000 and 2021 in the United States. These figures direct attention to the fact that brain injuries are common among veterans.
Brain injuries are often long-lasting as the brain is the most delicate part of the human body. Injuries to the brain are usually caused by an outward force due to a violent movement or a blow to the head.
Almost all traumatic brain injury cases in military service are precipitated by explosions or impacts on the war zone, falls, and vehicle crashes. In military personnel, blasts alone are responsible for the majority of traumatic brain injuries.
Brain injuries often go unnoticed, even when the symptoms are severe and affect a person’s day-to-day life. Seizures, memory loss, anxiety, depression, dizziness, and sleep disorders are a few common symptoms of traumatic brain injury in veterans.
#4 Hearing Loss and Tinnitus
Veterans and active military personnel are at a disproportionate risk of tinnitus and hearing loss. Early research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention discovered that armed forces members are at 30 percent greater risk of severe hearing loss than civilians.
Exposure to overly loud noises from blasts, tanks, and gunfires is the most common cause of hearing loss among veterans. Many times, veterans exposed to blasts have normal hearing levels. Still, they have difficulty understanding speech, especially in noisy surroundings.
Hearing loss and tinnitus can impact veterans’ ability to communicate with people and engage in social activities. In a study by NIH, Abrams et al. discovered a strong correlation between depression and hearing loss in older veterans. Further, he deduces that both conditions had lower health-related quality of life.
The Key Takeaway
The toll of war isn’t limited to physical wounds but extends to psychological trauma. Physical injuries often result in disabilities, which limits their ability to engage in daily activities. On the other hand, the invisible wound of wars, such as PTSD, significantly deteriorates veterans’ quality of life. If left untreated, they can have a devastating impact on veterans and their family members.
