Hearing requirements for DOT physical

Sleep with ear plugs in your ears the night before you test. Soory I am late for My hearing test.. I did not hear the alarm clock......

 

Hell I am DEAF in my right ear and I passed the test. All the DOT physicals I went through (3 so far) were the stand behind and whisper.

 

If your that deaf you don't need to be driving.....

 

Being aware of the alert signals around you is pretty crucial in any job; as a trucker, it could mean life or death to you or someone else. That said, the whisper test is hardly a good gauge for your ability to hear over the background noise of a truck. Make sure you're satisfied that you'll catch the signals you need (car horns, train horns, sirens, etc). How to achieve this? Well, at this point we don't have a great solution; if the noise is too loud in your vehicle, a hearing aid will not necessarily help, and may just make your hearing worse.

As for passing the hearing test (without straining to hear the button push, which should be inaudible unless the machine's in the room with you and the person running the test is an idiot), protect your ears from noise the preceeding 2 days at least by using hearing protection any time you're doing anything as loud as mowing the lawn (gas powered push mower); that will reduce the risk of metabolic fatigue which can cause a temporary (and eventually permanent) hearing loss. Get lots of rest. Avoid too much caffeine, as it can make your tinnitus worse and give you misleading results. If you're prone to wax, get the ears checked. Check with your MD about any meds than can suppress hearing (including high levels of aspirin). And don't smoke. If you like hearing (and also breathing), don't smoke.

40 dB HL at 500, 1000, and 2000 would be considered mild/borderline moderate hearing loss. Most of what we see only becomes more severe in the higher frequencies. Which means that a lot of times when we test in a booth, people do better than they do on the whisper test (which relies on the higher frequencies). So don't panic if you have to see an audiologist. Just make sure they're clear on what you need to know.

 

I've just begun putting in applications trying to get pre-hired. Wanting to get on with an outfit that has their own drivers school & help me get my class A CDL. I'm deaf in my left ear & the recruiter # Prime I spoke with believes it will be an issue. Hope not, sure do. Need the job!

 

Has anyone else had a problem w/ an ear bleed going through the moutains? I only have this problem crossing mountain range in Az & NM(everytime) in my right ear. Becomes painful for a few days & inflamed but then clears up. I get worried that eventually it will affect my hearing in hat ear. Thnks~Ladybug

 

As I have found out in the past two weeks when I had a DOT exam at a well known medical clinic that all companies use including carriers. I was told that I did not pass the hearing test. Step two, went to a audiologist to have a test done by more up-to- date equipment and was told that I passed the DOT acuity requirments. Took a letter back to the clinic and the results were refused, physician now wanted a statment or letter from a ENT.
When the trucking company called the clinic they omited that I had ment the reguierments under the test ran by the audioligst but the physican wanted more.
The ENT backed up the test from my audio test and provided a note to the clinic that I did meet the DOT requierments.
Bottom line is that we follow all DOT requierments as well as carriers, that's why they are written into laws that we all comply to.. But when physicans do not abide by the same rules and regulations then we all have a problem.

 

I don't advocate circumventing DOT requirements, but the smaller the clinic, the less likely they are to have sophisticated testing equipment. Having said that, it's not fair to the doctor if you suggest that he fudge the test for you. If you think getting a CDL license is hard, try getting a medical degree

 

This is great news on my part. I have a bone anchored hearing aid (BAHA) device and I was worried about the DOT hearing portion. Now the great part about my BAHA is I can hook it by bluetooth directly to the phone or CB radio.. I am starting with Prime on the 21st of June and hope to see you all on the road. (if the hearing passes )

 

Getting opinions won't you help to release your worries, you need to get the answer on whether you will tested with or without your aids from the company you'll be going with. You might also contact the FMCSA here ..
http://www.usa.gov/directory/federal/federal-motor-carrier-safety-administration.shtml
Hearing what's going on around you is vital. It's easy to hit something and not know you did it yet you'll be able to hear a metallic scrape. Example: while backing into a dock most drivers are mainly focused on the left side mirror. You hear a scrape...What was that??? you better stop and go look and find out what that was before proceeding! One time when I first started driving, while backing my right side trailer door became unlatched & I didn't notice it until I heard the crunch! Yeah, that's considered an accident!