I have used digital hearing aids all day and for a number of years and soon got used to them. Due to feedback I always remove them when using a decent headset such a B.. X. Never have any other touble.

Too many variables. I have been flying over 54 years and am a senior AME (US)

ANR headsets have a certain frequency response that is optimum. So do digital hearing aids. My combination Bose X series and top of the line Phonak with optional remote control work well on cetain settings which takes some experimenting to find the right combination. It also depends on the environment; I fly mostly piston twins, warbirds (T-6) there dosen't seem to be as much problem in light jets, biz jets, etc.. My hearing loss (sensori-neural) is to high and mid tones and moderatally severe. Less severe loss can be corrected with just a headset and no hearing aids, just turn up the volume. Air crew have differing problems depending on company protocol and how they communicated with each other.

Your best bet is to find a well trained audiologist (Audiology degree & MS or PhD) take the specs of your headset with you and have him prescribe an appropriate hearing aid. This will only work if the audiologist dispenses more than one brand of aid as each aid has differing frequency response.

FAA Medical and Tinnitus ?
 

Anyone know their views on this condition ?

Pilots and Hearing Aids.
 

Ok, from some stuff I have been reading recently I am a little confused. I always thought that if you required a hearing aid you would not be allowed to become a pilot of any type (commercial or otherwise) yet some things I have read recently seem to be saying different.

Can anyone clear this up for me. Can pilots use hearing aids???

Many thanks.

I was working with a Manchester based captain last week who wore hearing aids. He told me it was to increase safety. His hearing is still good enough to satisfy an AME!

Whether you can wear an aid if your hearing is below standards, i'm not too sure....

Tinnitus problems.
 

Hello

Lately i'm suffering my ears. It seems to be called tinnitus, the noises you hear which are not there. The cause is not determined yet.

I was wondering if there are pilots here who have the same problem and more important, can you loose your medical with that???

grtz

The onset can be quite sudden.
The causes seems to be unknown.
It may or may not be due to hours of headset flying, noise, gunshots etc.
It does not seem to have any medical significance.
It goes away and comes back.
There might be a certain degree of stress associated recurrence.
Sitting on the sea shore listening to the waves is unlikely to help it. Neither is firing shotguns indoors.
Get a check out with a decent ENT chap.
How would the AME know about it anyway unless you told him?
AFAIK it is not a disclosure item.
Hardly think it would affect a Class 1 -especially if you havea note from an ENT chap to say that all is well.
I am not a medical person. This brief is based on private experiences of a non voluptuous nature.
Of course-you may be about to enter The Twilight Zone.........

YouTube - The Twilight Zone: Nightmare At 20,000 Feet 1

There's been a lot of posts on this problem. Use the search entering the word tinnitus and this medical section.


In a mild case, the problem will show up only as a hearing loss around the frequency of the whistle - and this is what will show up on an aviation medical. But believe me, the hearing specialists that deal with pilots, are very used to high tone deafness. It rarely affect the pilot's ability to hear the RT, beacon identifying tones etc..

ok tx for the reply. Seems i'm not the only one.

Deaf
 

Hi, I'm just doing a bit of researching about pros and cons about becoming a pilot and I really do want to be a pilot although I do have an unanswered question which has been troubling me since I was interested in aviation: Can deaf or hearing impaired people become ATP?

Hearing loss in one ear
 

About 5 weeks ago I had a niggling ear problem, it just felt like their was an infection in one ear. I phoned GP and got an appointment (next available one was in 8 days time!!), by then the ear problem had sort of resolved itself so I cancelled it. The past few days I've come down with the cold and yesterday while watching TV the same ear started giving me problems again, but of a different nature from the previous ones, now its like the ear is 'blocked' as if I need to pop it or I'm constantly waiting for it to pop. giving the resulting loss of hearing. the feeling or sensation is similar to having water in that ear. Any suggestions as to what It could be? just worried because of the usual nonsense of waiting 5-10 days just to see you're GP here in the UK and I'm rostered to fly the next 5 days.

Hi Will.

If you've got a cold and blocked ears, then don't fly. It is as simple as that. Blocked ears are a common thing from a cold, it's just mucus usually that is blocking things up. It should clear up fairly quickly on it's own.

I suggest you ask your GP to refer you to the ear specialists at your hospital.
I would add...urgently.

It's quite possible you will need your ear(s) syringing but do not go flying... it will make the problem a lot worse as I found out when I decided to fly with a blocked ear up to 10,000 feet unpressurised.

Blocked ears during/just after a viral illness (cold, flu etc) is common and nothing to worry about long term. If you are unable to clear your ears then you should not fly in any situation where there may be pressure changes requiring you to clear your ears. Low level may be OK but any pressurised aircraft should be avoided. The main problem is that you only get ear pain on descent when it's too late to do anything about it!

Syringing ears will not help this sort of thing as the blockage is in the middle ear and syringing only treats the outer ear (as the eardrum seals one off from the other).

If symptoms do not settle after about a week/10 days after the viral illness has settled then you should probably see your GP. Likewise if the symptoms get worse.

Hope that helps

Bob

Thanks for the replies and I hope everything is going ok with you SAS!

I managed an appointment today and basically as Bob says, doctor thinks the eustachian tube is blocked, the ear drums were ok, no wax issues, so its the middle ear. A course of antibiotics to cover any infection and some nasal spray to help unblock the eustachian tube, although my nasal passages were never blocked.

He advised me to regularly try the pinching/blowing technique, swallowing and steaming to help unblock the eustachian tube, if thats the cause.

ear blockage
 

Middle ear/ eustachian tube blockage has been mentioned before. I sometimes suffer with it but less so since using a device called Eardoc, invented by an Israeli doctor. This battery operated device causes vibrations against the bone behind the ear to loosen the blockage. Look it up on line.

I frequently wake up quite deaf in the morning but can usually clear or improve it by rotating the palm of my hands against my ears.

Am I correct in thinking this indicates wax rather than inner ear problem?

scenario?
 

Hey guys ,
I made a search in this forum but didnt really find much specific on my question.....

Various medication help but then it comes again many times even though im not flying I feel discomfort and blockage even though my nose being almost unblocked.

Any help would be appreciated

Hearing impairment & medicals (UK)
 

Hi,

I'm hoping someone will be able to help me on this one.

I've always wanted to be an airline pilot since my early teens. I'm now in my early twenties. My problem is that I'm deaf in one ear. I've done some research and haven't been able to find a yes or no answer as to whether or not I can obtain a class 1 medical in the UK.

The "CAA hearing standards" would suggest that I would not obtain a Class 1 medical. That said, I've read a report regarding an A320 captain who worked for BMI. (a British airline) He wore a BAHA hearing aid. This type of hearing aid is often used by those with a moderate degree of hearing loss. As a result, he would not meet the CAA class 1 medical standards as documented on their website. This contradicts what the CAA website says, and leaves me rather confused...

Personally, I don't see what the problem is here anyway. In many ways, the problem is comparable to those who wear glasses in order to correct poor eyesight. Sure, I can't hear in one ear, however, I would be wearing a headset which would amplify mono sound, and would feed all sound into my normal ear. In addition to this, I'm aware that most headsets cancel out background noise quite well.

I've found a lot of useless information online, which is why I've decided to come here and ask. Most of the time, the information online is with reference to "deaf pilots". I personally believe that the term is frequently misused. I never know whether they're referring to those who are profoundly deaf, or those who suffer from any degree of hearing loss. Afterall, if someone was blind in one eye, would you say that they're blind? Probably not...

If anyone could provide any information or thoughts on this, I would appreciate it. Please keep in mind that this is with reference to the CAA Class 1 medical.

Cheers

Rich