Hi All,
I was interested to know what the situation is regarding hearing loss and entry to the police force or armed forces of your country. Here in the UK, it is not possible to join if one is hard of hearing. Is this the case in other countries like Australia, U.S.A… and european countries ?
Hi glucas, I think, I read somewhere on here when someone was asking about joining the FBI, they were HOH? Anyhow, it seems you can join as long as your hearing is corrected by suitable level with HA’s, don’t know what is a suitable level though?
Here in the UK, they want to hang their head in shame as we have laws that prevent discrimination against disabled people, you cannot even ask an interviewee at a job interview about their health never mind hearing according to the DDA and the Equality Act…The army and police must be exempt from such blatant discrimination?
Cheers Kev.
Hi,
Im new to this whole thing, but thought I’d share my experience as a member of the Australian Defence Force.
We have a very similar system to the UK it would seem in that all members are required to undergo a hearing test (standard beep test) as part of the recruitment process. You are then categorised into one of four “hearing standards” (HS1-HS4) depending on your results and this will typically determine whether you can be accepted for your chosen career stream.
I believe that almost all jobs in the ADF require a hearing standard of atleast HS1 or HS2 though, as in my situation, they are also able to grant waivers depending on your circumstances. For example, i was recruited as an Engineer with a HS3 (moderate hearing loss <60db across frequencies), which would ordinarily mean that I would be refused entry (HS2 requirement) though, because I was already degree qualified, they sought a waiver for me to enlist.
The benefit for me is that once you are in, they are required to look after you. I had a 5 yearly medical recently which involved a hearing test and found that I had deteriorated to HS4 (>80db loss across frequencies) due to my high frequency loss and (after a couple of months of specialist appointments) the ADF have just shelled out almost $9K for a pair of Phonak Ambra’s that will be fitted next week - my first hearing aids. SO im pretty happy about that.
Anyway, I wish you all the best and hopefully you may find some similar entry paths into the UK police / armed forces as we have down here.
Cheers
Espld81,
That is an amazing story ! Thank you.
The four categories that you mention seem to be similar to another thread I was reading about entry into the Canadian defence forces.
I wonder if hearing aids like the Ambra will ever be considered to be sophisticated that they will waive entrance requirements for certain jobs. I know that front line military/police service is out of the question, but a lot of jobs are simply desk bound.
Kev,
FBI ? That seems incredible. Thanks for your reply.