Victims of the 2004 Madrid bomb attacks have developed hearing problems

According to the association which represents victims of the bomb attacks carried out on Madrid’s Atocha mainline rail station on March 11, 2004 “the after-effects of terrorist attacks can appear immediately or over time, and the latter applies to hearing injuries”. It has also been confirmed that from this particular attack “the explosions and effects of the shock waves caused numerous hearing repercussions in victims that have led in some cases to total deafness, and in others to partial deafness.”

The Fundación Oír es Clave group has signed a cooperation deal with the 11-M Association to offer free hearing checks to its members. In this way, both organisations aim to achieve “maximum social integration for people with hearing problems,” the sources said. All affected persons will receive a report and they will be given advice and orientation on communication and hearing care. The aforementioned Foundation is taking advantage of the awareness campaign for this co-operation deal to get across information on acoustic trauma, its causes, and consequences such as perforation of the eardrum, hearing loss, and tinnitus or humming in the ear.