Class 1 Medical and tinitus

[Condensation]

Hi,
I suffer from tinitus, sometimes it is quite bad and sometimes not so bad along with a bit of hearing loss. Will this affect me with the class 1 medical? I can hear conversations and whispers to the ear without a problem so the hearing loss is not too severe. If they do accept hearing loss, to what degree do they accept it to in the class 1 medical? Your inputs would be greatly appreciated as this has been bugging me for a while.
Many Thanks,
Con

[zac21]

Mate , Just go and do the medical, you do not have to tell anyone you have tinitus, the audiogram is all you need, and when you fly, use noise canceling headsets , If you need any more info, PM me......

[Pass-A-Frozo]

I don't know about them noise cancelling headsets.. I used one, but it had a constant ringing sound. :}

[Led Zep]

P-A-F,
:ok:

Con, I believe you are allowed quite a significant loss of hearing in one ear before it affects your medical. Hearing loss in both ears is when you're in trouble, as far as I know.

[VH-XXX]

YOU MAY NEED TO YELL GUYS SO HE CAN HEAR YOU!

[Condensation]

Thanks for the replies!

I may have minor hearing loss but I'm certainly not blind! :ok:

[Arm out the window]

Condensation, from your description of the problem I don't think you'll have too much drama with it.
I've got some hearing loss (up to 40 dB at certain frequencies in one ear) plus some tinnitus, but still pass the class 1 medical OK.

Have you sat the hearing test before? The main thing I've found with tinnitus is that the ringing in your ears gets really loud in the quiet booth with the phones on and masks some of the beeps of a similar frequency. However, they play a number of different frequency tones, so it won't affect the full range of your hearing.
If you don't have a problem hearing radio calls and intercom talk, and normal conversation is OK, you should be right, I'd suggest.

If you do fail the beep test, all is not lost, as you can see a specialist who can do a speech discrimination test, among other things, and say whether you're good to go or not.

Some tips that may be useful - schedule your medical for the morning, and don't expose yourself to loud noise before doing it.
Make sure you don't have a cold, blocked ears etc when you go.
Don't sweat on it too much, and good luck.

'The bells, the bells ... '

[Condensation]

Thank you for your detailed reply! It is greatly appreciated, I will follow your suggestions.

Cheers!

[ToucheTurtle]

Condensation,

I too suffer from hearing loss but have still been able to get a class 1 medical.

From what I have been told, there are four levels to which they can test your hearing.

Stage 1: Standard hearing test at the DAME. If you pass, then OK. If you fail, go to Stage 2.

Stage 2: Standard hearing test at a hearing specialist ('Australian Hearing Centre' from where I recall). If you pass, then OK. If you fail, go to Stage 3.

Stage 3: Voice recognition test at the hearing specialist. If you pass, then OK. If you fail, go to Stage 4.

Stage 4: Voice recognition test in a simulated cockpit environment. If you pass, then OK. If you fail, well, then you are in trouble (quote "we've tried to get you through the hearing test, but there is only so much we can do").

I passed stage 3, so, I got through all is ok. All I can suggest is to go for the test, who knows? you may get through on Stage 1. There is no harm in trying. No point worrying until the professionals tell you that your hearing is not good enough. Also, follow the advice of the others, ie. avoid loud noise prior to the test, get a good sleep etc.

Good Luck!!

[OzExpat]

I've lived with tinnitus for the past 15 years or so. It's never given me any problems with Oz or PNG medicals so I don't think you'll have much of a problem. I agree that it's best to get the first appointment of the day with the DAME, after a night of restful sleep in a very quiet location. Even so, as has already been pointed out, there's a chance that you'll miss one or two of the tones due to being at a similar frequency to "the bells", but I've always managed to get through the stage 1 test.

Judging from your post, the problem is just beginning for you. It'll take a bit of time to get accustomed to it but you'll find many times where you're not even aware of the problem. The first time you take the test, just close your eyes so that you can concentrate on the tones without any visual distractions.

Unless there's another (underlying) medical problem, I'm sure you'll ace the test. :ok:

[olderairhead]

I too am a long time "sufferer" due to an errant fire cracker going off next to my ear some, should I say it, 30 odd years ago. As time has passed it has deteriorated but I still pass the doc's hearing test, even with a jack hammer going off outside his rooms a couple of years ago.

The best part about it is that if there a a million cicada's outside my bedroom, all I do is lie on the non affected side and then I don't hear a thing from the cicadas. Sort of like a natural noise cancelling effect.

Trouble is I can't see the buggers or hardly anything else!

Maybe if I lie on my face........................? :}

[S70IP]

What..... huh.....?

Don't tell them about the voices though ....... I don't.......

:8

[Condensation]

Thank you very much for sharing your experiences, opinions and knowledge! Once again, greatly appreciated!

Cheers!!

[ringin]

Sorry mate, what did you say...........:}