See Hear - Series 28 - Episode 29

Nearly 1 in 10 soldiers are returning from Afghanistan with damage to their hearing due to the intense nature of combat. The number of hearing injuries is one of the untold stories of Britain’s military campaigns. This week See Hear asks why this is happening and our exclusive footage will show the cutting edge technology being developed by the Ministry of Defence to protect their troops' hearing in the future. We meet two young soldiers who have recently returned from Afghanistan with hearing loss. 24 year old Daniel O' Brien spent 8 years in the Coldstream Guards serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2007 he lost the hearing in his right ear when he fired a rocket to save his colleagues’ lives. And 27 year old Michael Hill was discharged from the army after a tour in Afghanistan where he spent up to 12 hours a day working with heavy machinery and aviation noise, causing him to lose a significant part of his hearing. We also join 19 Light Brigade on their final combat training exercise before they are deployed to Afghanistan in March. The soldiers are trialling new ear defenders being developed by the Ministry of Defence - we watch them in action as they fight a simulated battle and find out if the new ear protection could work.