# medal of honor Ed Byers, hearing aids?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medal-of-honor-ed-byers-hearing-aids/747624>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 1, 2016, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medal-of-honor-ed-byers-hearing-aids/747624 "2016-03-01T12:56:35Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\
**Post date:** [March 1, 2016, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medal-of-honor-ed-byers-hearing-aids/747624/1 "2016-03-01T12:56:35Z")

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I watched the news and saw several images of him, and it looks like he has hearing aids in both ears. see here:  
[![](https://www.toledoblade.com/image/2016/02/29/800x_b1_cCM_z_ca475,179,1027,939/Byers.jpg) ](https://www.toledoblade.com/image/2016/02/29/800x_b1_cCM_z_ca475,179,1027,939/Byers.jpg)

Is this true or am I imagining? I expect if so, its likely due to some combat related issue, I wonder if that affects his current military work.

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**Author:** ![GiantRat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@GiantRat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GiantRat)\
**Post date:** [March 1, 2016, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medal-of-honor-ed-byers-hearing-aids/747624/2 "2016-03-01T14:16:44Z")

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I’m not sure about his case, but that does look like a hearing aid or some other “stuffed in” device. I have several friends who have SOF experience; at minimum they tend to listen to music/TV at high volume and one often needs to speak more loudly with them… they’ve been around things that go “bang” a lot.

OTOH, they’re often tracking a bunch of different things at once; ironically, this means they’re both keenly observant and constantly distracted. I will not admit that I use this to my advantage while playing cards…

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**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\
**Post date:** [March 2, 2016, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medal-of-honor-ed-byers-hearing-aids/747624/3 "2016-03-02T01:00:29Z")

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I know several people on active duty with similar hearing aids. It is not a factor in performance or career progession.

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**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\
**Post date:** [March 2, 2016, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medal-of-honor-ed-byers-hearing-aids/747624/4 "2016-03-02T04:06:55Z")

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Good luck having a quiet conversation with an Artillery Master Sergeant.