#1

Going to Italy this spring and found out the the Vatican Museum offers tours for people who have hearing loss. A person needs to have 74% hearing loss to qualify. The US does not measure hearing loss in percentages. Anybody have any experience with Italian hearing measuring scales? I have Bilateral severe to profound hearing loss. It would be really nice to qualify.

thanks

#2

Hearing loss is measured in decibels (by frequency), for instance, the WHO classifies this in four grades:

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As we have seen over the past three centuries for basic astronomy, the Vatican can sometimes be a bit slow in updating its scientific insights, but saying that the WHO qualifies your hearing loss as “profound” may help here.

#3

I’m Italian and can confirm it’s true that hearing loss is usually converts in % here but I’m not sure what scale is used.

But it must be pretty official as you need to reach certain % levels to qualify for a free hearing aid or some contribution from the national health system.

#4

Thanks for your feedback. Yes I need to do some more research. I posted the question on a travel forum and its not the percentage of hearing loss its the percentage of disability. So go figure. Not too sure who or what to ask questions.

#5

Then it’s even more complicated. Because 70% disability means you’re completely deaf and unable to work.

I have severe hearing loss and my percentage of disability is 40%.

#6

Yes I just went the National Library of Medicine and found that out. The Assessment of Disability in Italy: The Laborious Procedure and Sharing of Objectives. Thanks for all your feedback.