
© Alexandre Meneghini/ReutersUS Embassy in Havana, Cuba
More than two dozen diplomats stationed at the US embassy in Cuba suffered genuine in-ear damage after a mystery illness caused "intense" pain and dizziness, a study by the doctors who first treated them found.
The series of unexplained cases had prompted fears that the diplomats were intentionally targeted by Cuba with some kind of futuristic sonic weapon and even led the US embassy to
downsize its staff in Havana last year out of concerns for their "health, safety, and well-being."
The
new study, conducted by physicians at the University of Miami and the University of Pittsburgh published in the Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology journal, found that
all of the individuals had suffered "unsteadiness and features of cognitive impairment."In total, 25 people had reported intense pain in one or both ears as well as tinnitus, a ringing in the ears. The doctors confirmed that the patients displayed
"abnormalities in the otolithic organs" which help maintain the body's balance. "We're not saying it's not an injury to the brain. It may be," said Dr. Michael E. Hoffer, the lead author of the report, speaking to reporters on Wednesday.
"We do know, for sure, that it's an injury to the ear and that the brain is affected."
© Jennifer A. Villwock, MD
Comment: This is child abuse, pure and simple.