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Laurie Pullins, president of the Hearing Loss Association of Knoxville, said servicemen and women returning from war zones are coming home with hearing loss in addition to other physical and emotional wounds. Mark Brogan, of Knoxville, is one of them.

When Brogan first attended a meeting of the Knoxville group, Pullins said his story touched everyone.

“You could have heard a pin drop in there,” she said.

Brogan and his wife, Sunny, of Knoxville, were featured on the cover of Hearing Loss Magazine's September/October 2009 edition. In June, the couple shared their story at the opening session of the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) Convention.

Brogan was serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom on April 11, 2006, when a suicide bomber approached him from behind. The suicide bomber was killed and Brogan was left for dead. To the surprise of the medics, however, he was still alive.

Brogan, a United States Calvary Officer in A Troop, 4th Squadron 14th Calvary, 172 Stryker Brigade Combat Team, had been deployed from Fort Wainwright, Alaska, to Iraq to lead a platoon of infantry soldiers. He medically retired in February 2007, coming home with a Purple Heart, a traumatic brain injury and hearing loss. Now, the 29-year-old veteran advocates for veterans' care as well as being a member of HLAA.

Brogan recommended HLAA as a tool for veterans in this situation.

“It was so nice to be able to come and be among people that also had hearing loss,” he said. “My hope is that in the future HLAA can be involved with all the veteran organizations such as the DAV and VFW and help all the veterans with hearing loss.”

Portions of this story are reprinted with permission from Hearing Loss Magazine, published by the Hearing Loss Association of America. Copyright 2010, www.hearingloss.org.