My one ear doesnt work, am I doomed

[simmiy]

I have perfect hearing in one ear but very little hearing in my other ear. Are there medical requirements for CPL which states that I should have perfect hearing in both ears?

[Dane-Ger]

hi.

You can read the CAA requirements for hearing here.

http://www.caa.co.uk/default.aspx?catid=49&pagetype=90&pageid=533

Take them with you and get it checked out via your GP first before you invest the time and money of going to Aviation House.

good luck

Regards D-G

[simmiy]

this above reference does show the decibal levels and all that, however it fails to mention if this is true for each ear. I need to know if they do test for each ear separately or if the test conducted for both ears at the same time.

[poss]

When I got my medical class 2 done the doctor put the tuning forks to each ear and asked me what the difference in sound was, whether I could hear one in one ear and not in the other etc. There were times I couldn't hear anything in both but could in the other and there wasn't anything said. Both ears are tested.

[gingernut]

It sounds like an audiogram is required for a class 1 medical. Both ears will be tested individually-one ear will be masked, the other subjected to varying frequency (and ? amplitude) sounds)

The tests for class 2 (whispering and the tuning fork tests-Reinn and Weber) are a little more crude and subjective.

[sp33dfr33k]

Investigate doing a functional hearing test. If you don't have good hearing in both ears then you will have an endorsement on your medical. This is not the end of the road though if you can prove that your hearing does not affect you in the environment in which you hope to work.

[mutt]

This is not the end of the road though if you can prove that your hearing does not affect you in the environment in which you hope to work. Has anyone succeeded in doing this and continuing work as an airline pilot?

simmiy, it would make sense if you actually stated which country you wished to fly in, your ID shows INDIA, therefore there is no point researching JAA medical standards.

Regardless of JAA or FAA, both ears are tested individually.

Mutt

[2close]

This is not the end of the road though if you can prove that your hearing does not affect you in the environment in which you hope to work.

Now that is a novel concept. Regrettably, there are hundreds of people who would qualify to fly professionally if that were only true but are prevented from doing so owing to a failure to meet specific standards set by the regulatory authorities. An ability to actually be able to perform the task does not even come into it and there is no process of appeal whereby it can be tested, nor does there seem to be under future EASA medical standards!!

As for the hearing, for Class 1 certification you will need to take an Audiogram, whereby each ear is tested separately over a wide range of frequencies at varying volumes and plotted onto a graph which tells the doctors whether you meet the standards required.

(My original type read "each ear is tasted separately" :ooh: - now I would pay good money to video that!)

[sp33dfr33k]

That is what the CAA suggested to me! Originally my hearing (in one ear) fell short of the requirements so I did a functional hearing test at my local flying club and this was then allowed for an IR medical certificate (same as Class 1 medical standards). Fortunately I passed the hearing tests when I went for my full Class 1 medical I passed, but I presume (and possibly wrongly) that the functional hearing test would be appropriate if I failed a hearing test in the future after gaining my ATPL and employment with an airline.

[2close]

Now this is very interesting.

Am I to understand that the CAA advised you that, if you are able to safely perform the duties of flight crew by reason of practical demonstration then you would be issued with a Class 1 medical? :confused:

[mad_jock]

Its the same after you have worked for a while.

You can fail a hearing check. Then get a TRE to talk to you on a headset they then send a letter to the CAA and you have passed.

If you look at the limits for experenced rotary pilots you could let a bomb off in the same room as them and they wouldn't hear it.

[3Greens]

2close, see the bottom paragraph...


http://www.caa.co.uk/default.aspx?catid=49&pagetype=90&pageid=533

I have seen this once or twice as a TRE. Just sign a form that the candidates hearing is ok in the sim...no sweat

[Air Conditioned]

There are probably many rulings by various jurisdictions, but many pilots have flown with only one good ear.

I managed twenty years in airliners after a disease caused a nearly 70 dB loss in one ear at some frequencies, but the other one was very good. The return to flying involved comprehensive audio tests and an in-flight check with an IRE/TRE whose copy of a Notam, read to us by ATC, was the same as mine.

In my opinion, practical considerations are the more critical. If the subject pilot can use a headset for all communication (ie including cockpit intercom) there is absolutely no problem. However, many airlines, for reasons I never understood, persist in having their pilots use half a headset - one can on an ear for radio, and shout at each other for cross-cockpit comms. If this latter technique is the case then the seat occupied, the side of the deaf ear, the ambient noise level in the cockpit and the quality of radio/speech reception can vary the result from OK to Miserable.

For example, if you are in the right seat, with headset covering your left (good) ear trying to interpet a third world radio/operator, and also hear the bloke in the left seat in a noisy aircraft, then there could be a problem.

Obviously the CAA situation has to be decided, but then it may be necessary the find out whether an employer (and his pilots) have concerns.

[philipfcc]

i hold a category 1 medical, i am partially death in my left ear , right ear is great. which is not a problem . i also had to go up with an examiner and he tested whether i could hear instructions, i was aloud to turn them up as loud as i want. there are also other ways of getting a letter of recommendation from an instructor or flying examiner , stating that you are able to hear and understand commands, (clearances e.t.c).