I am a little confused, goes with age I guess. however I had severe hearing loss in one ear and was told that as a helicopter pilot it was not so much a problem as I had to wear a full headset as oposed to those worn in the big jets etc. That said, the Dutch medical authority mentioned that only one commercial pilot had lost his licence due to hearing loss, and this was at his request!
On every proficiency check I was assesed by the instructor who signed a form provided by the authorities stating that I was able to hear and respond appropriately in the cockpit. This was done for many years.
Perhaps the Dutch interpretation of the Regs was more pragmatic and realistic, but it worked for me and other Dutch licenced pilots.