Longtime pilots usually have lots of aviation experience under their belt, generally making them safer, wiser, and better prepared for the many scenarios flying can throw at them. But as they age, pilots may also face health challenges, including deterioration of vision, slower reaction times, and loss of hearing, which can increase risks in the cockpit and impact the overall enjoyment of flying.
While medical devices can compensate for some of these losses, they do require additional steps as part of their medical examination to ensure they can continue flying safely. So can pilots who wear hearing aids still fly?
Pilots with significant hearing loss must wear hearing aids and pass one of three tests to ensure they can detect environmental sounds and communicate by radio, while pilots with profound deafness may be restricted to airspace where radio communication is not required.
This article outlines the process for pilots with hearing aids to retain (or get) a medical certificate and explores possible paths for those with more severe forms of hearing loss to keep flying.
Can pilots wear hearing aids?
Pilots with hearing loss that is offset by hearing aids will need to pass one of three tests in order to be issued a medical certificate. These are a spoken voice test, a pure audiometric test, or an audiometric speed discrimination test.
Spoken Voice
FAA standards require a pilot to be able to hear the spoken voice at a distance of six feet with his or her back turned to the examiner during the medical exam.
Those who can’t pass that test may take a pure tone audiometric test.
Pure Tone Audiometric Test
Wearing headphones, they signal if and when they hear sounds transmitted at various frequencies and audio levels.
Audiometric Speech Discrimination Test
Finally, a patient may undergo an audiometric speech discrimination test, which is administered by an otologist or audiologist.
In that case, patients are asked to repeat specific words spoken to them and score at least 70 percent in correctly identifying words broadcast at 65 or fewer decibels in either ear.
An example of a real audio test being administered can be heard here.
What happens if a pilot fails all three hearing tests?
A pilot who fails all three of the FAA-designated hearing tests may be eligible for a Statement of Demonstrated Ability (SODA). An application seeking a SODA must send a request in writing to the FAA’s Aerospace Medicine Certification Division.
Qualification may be determined one of three ways: through a special examination by an Ear, Nose, and Throat specialist; through a Medical Flight Test; or through operational experience.
What’s allowed under a SODA?
Depending on the Aerospace Medicine Certification Division’s (AMCD) determination regarding an airman’s hearing levels, a few things might happen.
For a student pilot, a limitation may be imposed on their medical or student pilot certificate prohibiting flight in airspace where radio communication is required.
When they’re ready for their private pilot checkride, they’ll again write to the AMCD requesting an FAA inspector to conduct a Medical Flight Test around the same time.
If the student passes both exams, the FAA can issue a pilot’s license with the ongoing limitation that they remain outside of airspace requiring the use of radios.
What’s involved in a Medical Flight Test for a SODA?
An examiner flies with the pilot to make sure he or she can pick up on important auditory cues in the cockpit.
These include noticing variations in engine power and performance and impending stalls, and as well as warning lights and other visual indicators that can help alert the pilot to unsafe or unusual mechanical issues or attitudes.
If the hearing loss is accompanied by other issues, like vertigo, these may require further evaluation and approval by the FAA.
Can hearing aids be used while flying?
Yes, if the aviator can meet the FAA’s hearing standards by using hearing aids, he or she may earn a certificate requiring that they be worn at all times while flying.
Some pilots who wear the devices prefer to use them only when they’re on the ground and to rely on their headphones’ amplification features while in the air (or prefer to use just one of two hearing aids while in the air).
This may be allowable, too, but only if they’ve been tested using these configurations during their Medical Flight Test.
Can people with cochlear implants become pilots?
People with cochlear implants can still become pilots as long as they can pass the FAA’s standards for hearing while using the device. The same requirements (including a Medical Flight Test) and limitations are involved for pilots with cochlear implants as for those who wear hearing aids.
Cochlear implants are a device attached to the skull that transmits vibrations directly to the brain where they’re interpreted as sound.
Related Questions
How many pilots have hearing loss?
Statistics are hard to come by since many pilots may, understandably, try to downplay or deny their hearing loss. But on average, 13% of the U.S. population has some kind of permanent hearing impairment.
Given the exposure to loud noises by many pilots, the percentage of those in aviation with hearing loss may be even higher.
What steps can I take to protect my hearing today?
When night flying, you know to take care not to expose your eyes to white light before or during your flight. In the same way, loud noises should be avoided (or at least muted) whenever possible.
The easiest way to prevent, or slow the progression of, hearing loss is to wear ear protection whenever you’re near loud noises–and not just at the airport.
If your job or work around the house exposes you to intense sounds, even for a short duration, you can experience hearing loss. (For reference, normal conversation registers at 60-65 decibels, a lawn mower or chain saw at 100-110 dB, and a jet engine at 130-160 dB.)
In the cockpit, it’s essential you have good headphones that reduce the ambient noise without interfering with your ability to hear radio communications clearly. While they can be a bit more expensive than standard headsets, noise-canceling headsets can significantly boost the signal-to-noise ratio, enhance sound quality, and protect your hearing.
Conclusion
Pilots who use hearing aids, even those who are deaf, can still have lots of fun flying.
They will have to pay more attention to cues offered by their other senses. They may also be restricted to flying in areas where radio communication isn’t mandatory.
But as long as they pass the appropriate tests, pilots with hearing loss–or even deafness–can earn their commercial certification and do everything from towing banners and gliders to engaging in agricultural operations, like spraying.
In fact, as of 2017, there were more than 200 deaf pilots in the United States, four of them with instrument ratings.
