 Sixteen years later , the Los Angeles Times obtained Hubbard 's medical records through the Freedom of Information Act . The records stated that Hubbard had told doctors that he had been " lamed " by a chronic hip infection , and that his eye problems were the result of conjunctivitis caused by exposure to " excessive tropical sunlight " . Hubbard 's post @-@ war correspondence with the VA was also included , including letters in which he requested psychiatric treatment to address his " long periods of moroseness " and " suicidal inclinations . " He continued to complain to the VA about various physical ailments into the 1950s , well after he had founded Dianetics ; the Times noted that , significantly , Hubbard had promised that Dianetics would provide " a cure for the very ailments that plagued the author himself then and throughout his life , including allergies , arthritis , ulcers and heart problems . " Other documents on Hubbard 's medical file stated that he had injured his back in 1942 after falling off a ship 's ladder . 
