As at 01 October 2017, there were 137, 280 currently serving British armed forces personnel, of which:

• 2,450 (1.8%) had impaired hearing (H3), of which 337 also had a code for noise induced hearing loss (NIHL) recorded on their medical record.
• 373 (<1%) had poor hearing (H4), of which 33 also had a code for NIHL recorded on their medical record.

NIHL was identified from the Defence Medical Information Capability Programme (DMICP), first rolled out in 2007, by using the following read codes:

• DMSACA03: Audiogram shows potential noise induced hearing loss pattern.
• DMSACM02: Medical officer (MO) assessed – screening audiometry consistent with mild NIHL.
• DMSACM03: MO assessed – screening audiometry consistent with significant stable NIHL.
• DMSACM04: MO assessed – screening audiometry consistent with significant progressive or rapid NIHL.
• DMSACS02: Specialist diagnosis – mild NIHL.
• DMSACS03: Specialist diagnosis – significant stable NIHL.
• DMSACS04: Specialist diagnosis – significant progressive or rapid NIHL.
• F5810: Unspecified noise effect on inner ear.
• F5811: Acoustic explosive ear trauma.
• F5812: Noise induced deafness.
• F5812: Noise induced hearing loss.
• F581z: Noise effects on inner ear NOS.