Ever wonder what was happening in Army Audiology 20 years ago? Well neither have I, until I found a copy of the Army Audiology Newsletter THE 68M dated 1 March 1981.
Issues
It opens with a letter from the Consultant (LTC Roy Sedge) speaking of their struggle with …forever justifying our military status at each cut in military manpower… Wow, does that ever sound familiar! At the time we had 61 army audiologists, about 1 audiologist for every 12.6k soldiers (1980 data). We currently have 32 army audiologists, and each is responsible for aprox 15.5k soldiers (1999 data). Not bad considering all that the army, and audiology, has been through. I also believe that we have more civilian audiologists now than we did then.
Rank
The rank break down looked something like this:
- LTC 4 -Including Rod Atack and our ever present Don Ciliax. All 4 had a DOR in 1980
- MAJ 10 -Including Ernie Helper and Gus Muller who had just pinned on last Aug.
- CPT 36 -Including Rich Dennis, James Beauchamp, Richard Danielson, Dean Harmer, Jeff Davies, Leslie Peters, William Beck, Clyde Byrne, James Jerome, and Dave Chandler who had just pinned on CPT the previous July.
- 1LT 11
| Rank: | 1LT | CPT | MAJ | LTC | COL |
| number with in 1981 | 11 | 36 | 10 | 4 | 0 |
| number with in 2001 | 4 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 6 |
The rank structure seems to have changed dramatically. While we don’t have as many company grade officers, we do have an increase in field grade officers. This should allow for longer careers and better promotion opportunities.
Education
Of 61 audiologists, eight had a Ph.D. Rod Atack was the only LTC who did not have his Ph.D., but he was working on it at the Univ. of Utah. Jeff Davies was the only CPT who had a Ph.D.
Publications
AR 40-501 had just been published in Jan. It listed audiometric standards for Induction, Army Aviation, and Physical Profiles. Induction and Profile standards were more stringent than they are today.
Profile
| Profile | 1981 | 2001 |
| 1 | Average not more than 15 dB at .5, 1, 2 kHz. Not over 40 dB at 4000 Hz in both ears. | Average not more than 25 dB @ .5, 1, 2 kHz. No level greater than 30 dB. Not over 45 dB at 4 kHz both ears |
| 2 | Average not more than 20 dB at .5, 1, 2 kHz. Not over 50 dB at 4 kHz in both ears. Or 15 dB at .5, 1, 2 kHzand 30 dB at 4 kHz in better ear | Average not more than 30 dB at .5, 1, 2 kHz. No level greater than 35 dB. Not over 55 dB at 4 kHz. In both ears. Or 30 dB at .5 kHz, 25 dB at 1 and 2 kHz, and 35 dB at 4 kHz. |
| 3 | May have hearing level at 20 dB with hearing aid by SRT | Aided or unaided SRT greater than 30 dB |
Hearing Aids
The most used hearing aids were(based on % issued at the MedCens):
- Dahlberg 2535
- Danavox 735
- Oticon E-11-HC
- Telex 331 H1
- Qualitone TCM
The least used hearing aids (that were used):
- Dahlberg 2551
- Radioear 1010
- Fidelity F-228
Travel
Where might you PCS to? Well, the following assignments were filled in FY1981:
- Ft Irwin
- Ft Meade
- Ft Leonard Wood
- Ft Sam Houston (3)
- Seoul
- Landstuhl
- Frankfurt
- Aberdeen
- Ft Rucker
- Madigan AMC
- Ft Eustis
Some of the more exotic assignments included:
- Ft Devens, MA
- Ft Dix, NJ
- Nuernberg, Germany
- Augsburg, Germany
- Ft Clayton, Canal Zone
- Ft Myer, VA
Well I hope you have enjoyed this peak into our past. It has given me a greater appreciation for the hard work, vision, and struggles of our predecessors. I hope we can all keep the same vision and dedication over the next 20 years.
CPT Martin Robinette, USA