Worried about my hearing!

[magneticflip1]

Hi there,

I usually go out about once a week and often this results frequenting the noisiest pubs and clubs around, where all the hot chicks are. I've been doing this for some years now, and am becoming quite worried about my hearing, (often Im left with ringing in my ears until the next day). Does anyone know if I have a private hearing test will this show any damage, or does it take some time (like years) for the damage to become apparent??

What happens to airline pilots who do frequent these places? Do many end up losing their medicals as a result of the noise in such places?? I do know some airline pilots and I know they like their clubs, (the ones I know anyway)!

P.s. Im not wearing ear plugs! Who in their right mind would wear such things in a club???? Has anyone pulled wearing such things...I doubt it!!! Hope that doesnt sound arrogant but its really quite unrealisitic!!

thanks!

[redsnail]

If the ringing in your ears is lasting untill the next day I would say you are damaging your hearing. If you want to keep your medical I would either reduce the number of times you visit these places, pick the least noisiest spot to stand (excluding the toilets :D and wear earplugs. Even cut down ones will help.
You should be able to arrange a hearing test through your local doctor.
You won't notice the hearing loss untill it's too late. Once it's gone, it's gone. Yes, I do know some pilots that have lost their medicals because they've failed hearing tests. They had to retire about 15 years earlier than they wanted to.

[Irishwingz]

I'm 27 and recently did my first medical. I used to be a DJ and never took precautions like earplugs etc. I also go to concerts alot. I used to get the ringing sensation all the time.

Anyway come the day of the test I got the headphones on, sqeezed my eyes shut to help me concentrate and got on fine with it. the doc remarked that I had excellent hearing!

I'm not sure if a regular GP would have the equipment the AME had - I stand corrected of course.

[aztruck]

I'm interested to know whether Flight Crew who develop hearing loss are allowed to wear Hearing aids on the Flight Deck, in the same way that Spectacles are allowed for loss of vision. Is there any reason why not as long as a spare is carried and normal functions can be carried out?
In the meantime I suggest wearing earplugs....WHAT WAS THAT YOU SAID?

[QDMQDMQDM]

It takes surprisingly little to damage hearing. Ringing in the ears the next day is a bad sign. It's your choice, but it sounds like your hearing is at risk, even if a hearing test now is normal.

QDM

[redsnail]

Hehehehe Aztruck,
Worried that your "other" occupation might catch up with you.
My dear ol Mum has a hearing aid, she doesn't like it much because rather than the range that she needs amplified, all sounds are amplified. I could see that all ambient sounds cranked up a notch could be annoying.

[slim_slag]

magneticflip1

Only one good thing can come out of what you are doing. If you don't wear earplugs you won't be able to hear that bird you pulled nagging you twenty years after you married her :)

All you will hear is "weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee".

It's not worth it, for once take the advice of the old curmudgeons round here, and protect your hearing. Me and a lot of my crusty old mates regret not doing so when we were clubbing in our twenties (except back then it was disco, flared white trousers, Johnny Travolta and some foursome from Sweden). Yeh Baby, Stayin' Alive doing the Dancing Queen!

Why not try the sophisticated line and impress the babes with a responsible approach to your health. Practice for when you get older, that's what they want to hear after they hit 25 :)

Just to answer your question, I was a party animal in my twenties, usually with ringing in my ears only the day after going out on the town. Pretty much stopped that lifestyle when I hit thirty (or stopped going to noisy clubs), but in my late thirties the ringing came back. Years later it's here most days, and people remark on my deafness. So if I was you I would seriously consider avoiding loud noises for ever. I'd invest in a very good headset (ANR are brilliant) if you are in proximity to aircraft engines.

Once you destroy the sensitive little hairs and nerves in your inner ears they don't grow back. So yes, you can cause the damage years before you have the problems. Boots do a decent hearing test for around £25, would probably be quicker than going via your GP. If Boots picks up problems, go see your GP with your audiogram and he/she will take it further.

[magneticflip1]

Thanks for your replies. Your totally right! I'll avoid these kind of places from now on! Its quite hard as there seems no happy medium out there. On one side theres the really quiet pubs where old men hang out, and then on the other extreme theres the trendy bars with all the hot chicks that play really loud music. I know which one I would rather be in!!!:O From now on its the one with the old men:O

What I dont understand is that I hear about the occasional pilot losing his medical due to a hearing loss. However it surprises me that there are also so many musicians out there who are also pilots- for instance the guy off the heavy metal band Iron Maiden who flies 757! Surely the music and noise these guys must have been subjected to over the years would have been phenomenal!!

[redsnail]

You'd be surprised just how many muso's wear ear plugs. DJ's as well.
You don't have to avoid the clubs, just be a smidge more sensible about it. :D

[slim_slag]

Yes, as redsnail says, no need to avoid the clubs. Just make sure you stop the loud noises reaching your eardrums.

And there is nothing wrong with the old duffer's pubs. We attract the older ladies too, and you will find they have a lot to offer which the younger girls don't.

And I don't believe I said that, I must be going senile :) All the older ladies I know want a 20 year old so you would be in a lot of trouble. But only for your body, not your mind :)

The fact that us old rockers can still pass flying medicals just goes to show how low the standards are for hearing. I can easily pass a Class 1 medical, but I have definite hearing impairment which is obvious to me and others. When flying and talking to ATC, I just turn the headset volume up.

[P1 Forever]

Hi, as a airline pilot wanabee, I also have concerns over my hearing and passing future medicals.

I have a current class 1 medical, however at the moment I work in a noisy environment which has noise levels of approx 95dB, so obviously I were earplugs which reduces noise levels by around 20dB.

Therefore if I were earplugs, am I correct to believe that my ears are explosed to around 75dB and is this level bad for my hearing even with the earplugs?

Also what decibel level is loud music in nightclubs as I visit those kinds of places around once a week?

Can anyone advise whether my working environment at the moment is safe for my hearing and are the CAA strict when it comes to the hearing test?

Thanks in advance.......

[karaoke]

The CAA are as strict about hearing as for any other aspect of your wellbeing (and the wellbeing of the passengers in the back!)

Limits for hearing are specified, and for an initial you will have to reach the minimums required, just as for anything else.

However, once you have flown for a number of years they are much more 'lenient', and the limits are widened. A 'funtional hearing test' is often req'd. and consists only of a 'cockpit hearing assessment', usually carried out on the flight deck (or sim), by a training captain. The idea being to see that you can still perform safely as flight crew, on the basis that your experience will carry you through.

I know of a captain who is flying with two hearing aids !!


Gerrupta Singh.

[slim_slag]

In the States you can obtain a medical certificate even if you are as deaf as a post. You will just not be allowed into any airspace where you need to hear ATC (Class A-D), it has nothing to do with how experienced you are :) Sometimes ATC will issue an instruction which goes against what your experience might predict, and it's often hearing those instructions which saves your bacon.

[Gerund]

As all the other posters have said, look after your hearing - you can only lose it once!

Exposure to loud noise, eg the disco, causes hearing loss at the higher frequencies first. Fortunately, the hearing test requirements want you to be able to hear at the lower frequencies, ie the frequencies relating to normal speech. Hearing loss at the higher frequencies is not a problem for the class 1.

My hearing is appalling at the higher frequencies and has been commented on at every renewal. I have never spent any time in discos and put it down to the effects of gunfire (another story).

So, hearing loss, per se, is not the problem. It is whether it is at the higher frequencies, or the lower.

Whatever, I invested in an ANR headset. Worth every penny I would say.

[aztruck]

Its interesting about the gunfire...Army Cadets at school have a lot to answer for. I was firing .303.s with no protection for several years at school, and did a couple of weeks with the regulars doing battle camps etc. - not an Ear defender in sight.
A medical aged 24 revealed gun damage in both ears(worse in the left).
The Consultant even came back in clutching my audiogram with a big grin.."Ever done any shooting...303...right handed?"
Still got my Class One though, but I'm a stickler for ANR headsets and big ear defenders for walkrounds. I've got some 33db plugs for music and loud places...paranoid...moi?
I do wish that jets used light aircraft style voice activated mics, then I could use BOTH ears of my anr set and turn the volume down even more on the radios...

[VFE]

Im not wearing ear plugs! Who in their right mind would wear such things in a club???? Has anyone pulled wearing such things...I doubt it!!! Hope that doesnt sound arrogant but its really quite unrealisitic!!

A guy I used to train with would get the mickey taken outa him for going to nightclubs with ear plugs in. He pulled a right nice Spanish peice one night so that shoots that theory to poo.

Personally I've never been to a nightclub that played music that loud my ears were ringing when I left but there we go.....

Rock concerts tend to be on the loud side and I would certainly recommend wearing plugs for a gig by a group such as Motorhead! I know a girl who is almost deaf in one ear cuzza her love of Motorhead gigs! Bless her lill' tattooed cotton socks.

My class one nurse said I already have loss of the upper end of the hearing spectrum (forget the exact hz range) and that this was caused by playing loud music..... blah blah....

What..... eh? Say sommat?

VFE.