Photo By Airman 1st Class Erin Baxter | Tech. Sgt. Cody Drees, 15th Wing Operational Support Squadron weather craftsman,...... read more read more
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JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii--Currently, more than 2.7 million veterans receive disability benefits from hearing loss or tinnitus as a result of military duty, but what happens when an Airman begins to go deaf in the middle of service?
Tech. Sgt. Cody Drees is a 15th Operations Support Squadron weather craftsman and has been fully deaf in his left ear and partially deaf in his right since 2016.
“The prevalent theory is Meniere’s Disease: a combination of genetics and environment causes the inner ear to shut down,” said Drees. “It sparked during my deployment to Iraq in 2011. A mortar got too close one day, which eventually led to my hearing loss.”
Meniere’s disease is characterized by hearing loss, vertigo, and in Drees’ case, severe and crippling tinnitus. Drees tried multiple options for relief that did not work, including oral steroids, injecting steroids into the eardrum, and one-sided hearing aids, before turning to a cochlear implant.
“The operation was fully funded by the U.S. Air Force,” said Drees. “The implant itself is embedded in my skull, with titanium wires coiled into the inner ear. My ear hairs are dead, but the nerves still work. The device basically shocks me into hearing.”
With the implant, Drees feels as though he has been able to live a more normal life. For him, one-on-one conversations have no discernible differences, but hearing becomes more difficult in a crowded room, or with background noise. To help with this, he has begun to learn how to read lips.
“Tech. Sgt. Drees has been a pillar of resiliency, continuously finding the strength to dedicate himself to excel at work, with his hobbies, and even with physical fitness despite the medical challenges he has endured,” said Jessica Semder, wife of Master Sgt. Matthew Semder, 15th OSS weather flight chief, and friend of Drees. “He has found light in his situation by calling himself a ‘cyborg,’ which demonstrates how he has been able to keep his spirits up even with such life-altering changes.”
For Drees, having a life-changing surgery was a hard adjustment.
“At first, I didn’t feel capable at all,” Drees said. “ It was a mental challenge to see me still of worth, not just as an Airman but as a person. Between the support of my wife, a couple close friends, my stellar leadership, and the combined medical teams of Audiology at Tripler and our Hickam Mental Health Clinic, I persevered.”
As of right now, with hearing loss and open-heart surgery under his belt, Drees is a proud member of the Wounded Warrior Program and is considering medically retiring from the Air Force.
“I’ve served honorably, I’ve taken pride in the work I’ve accomplished, I’ve helped mentor and shape our future leaders, and most importantly I know what my limitations are and how to not overextend,” said Drees. “I can’t do any of the former without knowing the latter, and that’s been a wild, page-turning lesson for me for the last four years.”
Despite the amount of set-backs this Airman has endured, Drees still remains a positive-minded and proud active-duty member of the United States Air Force.
| Date Taken: | 05.31.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 06.10.2020 16:22 |
| Story ID: | 371147 |
| Location: | JBPHH, HI, US |
| Web Views: | 34 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Weather Airman strikes against disability, by A1C Erin Baxter, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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