Influence of Strict Regulations on the Use of Hearing Protectors in the Finnish Defence Forces

The regulations concerning hearing protection during military training in the Finnish Defence Forces were renewed in 1989. The material of this prospective study concerns 912 consecutive conscripts (463 before and 449 after the new regulations) who were referred to the Central Military Hospital for acute acoustic trauma (AAT). We focused on three issues: (1) general habits regarding the use of hearing protection during shooting drills and combat...