Hidden Injuries
it’s very obvious what my injuries are probably because I wear shorts and t shirt 90% of the time despite what the weather might be outside some of you will know this is because I have the same blood in my body but less extremities to help me cool down so I’m always hot but I also wear shorts and t shirt so people can see my injuries and hopefully give me more room to walk about or maybe hold a door open for me!
But what about my other injuries the ones that you can’t see and I’m not talking about the 8 inch long scar down the back of my left leg or the 3 inch shrapnel scar at the top of my right leg I’m talking about the same hidden injures thousands of lads and lady’s have that are not so obvious. You might be surprised to know that in my eyes my worst injury is tinnitus! It’s a constant reminder of the conflict I was involved in and a constant white noise in my head. The same as wearing a radio headset when on stag or the same white noise as back in the day when the tv finished at midnight a constant noise 24/7 the same pitch and same level. which makes prolonged concentration very hard. Conversation one on one is ok most of the time In the right environment but group conversation is a nightmare and I really don’t like it because I must appear to be very rude as I tend to just nod and smile. Also thrown into the mix is deafness I’m H3 in my left ear and H4 in my right on the MOD scale of H5 being deaf and H1 being perfect. I would put money on that no one leaving the army is H1! When talking in a group at a party or function I don’t know who I’m being introduced to or what the conversation is about which makes me feel embarrassed and probably look pretty stupid at times. It also leads to arguments at home with me constantly asking Claire to repeat herself because I didn’t quite catch what she said and yes I have hearing aids but I think I have enough stuff to attach to my body without putting them in each morning! As always I’m not looking for sympathy just stating the facts.