Hello everyone, I seem to be stuck in neutral at the moment in relation to which direction I can go in. I have asked this question in several places, as I am just after some advice as to how I can proceed. First a little about myself.
I am currently a serving Police Officer, but I dream of one day holding an ATPL. I am in the process of obtaining my PPL; however it is a slow process due to cost. Anyway, I obtained my Class 2 medical 2-3 years ago with no problems, especially none with my hearing. However, when I initially applied for the Police several years ago, I was told that my left ear was slightly below average, and so I had to re-take the hearing test a couple of weeks later (which I passed with no problems).
Fast forward to 2008, and I transferred to another force, and again had trouble with the hearing test. I was told that one of my ears was slightly below the acceptable limits, which I believe are as follows;
http://www.policecouldyou.co.uk/offi…al_59-2004.pdf
Anyway, I was accepted and thought no more about it.
I have no trouble with conversations etc, and to be honest, if these tests had not pointed anything out, I wouldn’t have thought I had a problem.
My right ear does have a feeling that it has a small amount of “pressure” inside, but I have had my ears cleaned, and they were found to have no wax. Also, (and this is the strangest bit), when I close my mouth and swollow then breath, 90% of the time I can hear my breathing in my right ear then goes when I open my mouth??
My problem is I don’t want to go to my doctor, and have my possible “over-reaction” noted on file, but at the same time, I need to get something done. I don’t know if it is just nerves when I take these tests or what, but can anyone help?
I was hoping to go to a “private” Audiologist (if that’s correct) in the Northwest area, Liverpool or even Manchester. I don’t mind paying to have my mind put at rest or for some advice, just as long as it stays private. Can anyone suggest anywhere? A look on Google found the following;
http://www.alexandrahospital.co.uk/searchdirectory/a/audiologists.htm
The basic hearing test used throughout JAR-FCL 3 is the ability to hear conversational speech when tested with each ear at a distance of 2 metres from and with his back turned towards the AME. This test is done at every medical examination for both professional and private pilots. |
For professional pilots, and private pilots with an instrument rating, a further test called an audiogram is required. The audiogram is a test where you signify that you have heard sounds at different frequencies. Perfect hearing is measured as nil loss of hearing (0 decibel – 0 dB) at that particular frequency. Decreased hearing is shown as a decibel loss (10,20,30,40 decibels) at a particular frequency. The required hearing levels and the maximum allowable losses are:
35dB at 500Hz
35dB at 1000Hz
35dB at 2000Hz
50dB at 5000Hz
By: TonyT - 12th August 2009 at 01:59
Remember Primate as in all things it’s peaks and troughs, yes it’s in the doldrums at the moment, but as with all things it will recover, and to be honest I think the best time to be training is during that period, schools are desperate for students etc, so prices get reduced, that way hopefully by the time you have got the hours, ATPL etc things will be on the up and the Airlines will be recruiting, its better to be training in the trough and qualifying as things improve, rather than the other way around as mentioned.
Go for the class one, that way you are not going to blow money on training to find you cannot get there in the end, for what it is worth another option, friend of mine could not get a UK ATPL’s because of his eyesight, so he did his FAA one instead as the limits were lower……… where there is a will there is a way 🙂
By: Primate - 11th August 2009 at 15:36
Thanks for your reply.
I’m sorry to hear about your situation. You seem to focus primarily on companies in Britain and Ireland. Have you tried to expand your search elsewhere?
Last year I had the fortune of gaining entry to a public FTO, so training fees are not an issue. If things go according to plan I will graduate in about two years.
I’m aware that I may well have to spend some time collecting flight hours after graduation. I hope that SE hours (e.g. towing gliders and lifting skydivers) won’t be a problem. I don’t know about ME hours, though. Instructor training is also an alternative. Then again, flight hours don’t necessarily mean everything according to what I’ve been told.
If flying is your dream then you will make it
Nice attitude! 😎
By: Lord Ollswater - 11th August 2009 at 10:49
I finished my ATPL training in July 2008, as did my 25 coursemates. So far only 6 of them have jobs, and they were all got before September last year. Since then no-one I know (around 200+ graduates) has actually started a TR course with any airline, despite passing assessments, being put into hold pools etc. (BA have recently sent emails out telling us not to expect a TR for at least 12-18 months!). Only Ryanair are actively recruiting of the major carriers and even they stopped for several months over the winter. Some of the large airlines are looking to reduce their number of pilots by 20% this winter, with some also having plans to ground aircraft.
In response to this, the FTO I went to has reduced its intake by more than half, with smaller course sizes and with a course starting every other month instead of every month. This may mean that it could be harder to get into, however, if you want to pay the fees they’ll probably bite your hand off!!
This has meant that for most of us we’re doing temporary work and trying to get some GA flying in on the side. Also we still need to revalidate our IR and keep our technical knowledge up to par, just in case we get a response to the hundreds of emails and applications we send off.
I’m not trying to depress you, but it really isn’t a good time to be a low hour pilot! Personally, I would wait 6 months or so and test the water then. If it seems like an upturn is coming then start your training. Seventeen months later (if you do the course I did) out you pop, qualified and ready to go, with jobs available.
If flying is your dream then you will make it, it’s just a bit of a waiting game at the moment.
By: Primate - 11th August 2009 at 08:40
(and seeing as how there are NO pilot jobs at the moment or for the foreseeable future
Is that so?
By: Lord Ollswater - 10th August 2009 at 22:52
I can only agree with Moggy. Go and have your Class 1 medical done.
If you fail it, then you can talk to the guy about it and at worst you won’t get your ATPL and will have to find fulfillment in another career (and seeing as how there are NO pilot jobs at the moment or for the foreseeable future that isn’t necessarily a bad thing). If you pass it, then there’s no problem.
Trying to bluff your way through it and then getting rejected by airlines after you’ve spent a lot of money and slogged your guts out to get there will be soul-destroying, especially with only yourself to blame.
Phone up Gatwick, get it booked, get it sorted, end of.
By: Mike12421 - 4th August 2009 at 15:18
Hello, my problem is that I’m being told there is a “problem”, however I don’t think there is. But before I go and spend £400+ on a class 1 medical (with the possibility of failing), I wanted to see a private Audiologist to see if I had anything to worry about. At the end of the day I will pay whatever is needed to, but I don’t want to waste money neither.
I was hoping for advice, or being pointed in the direction of a recommended audiologist, as I have searched around but not found many notable leads.
I certainly don’t want to slip through with no one noticing, I want to fix whatever is wrong.
Thanks.
By: Moggy C - 4th August 2009 at 14:03
I’m sorry Mike. I can’t really see your problem.
You either have a hearing problem or you don’t.
If you don’t there is no problem with you taking the Class One medical right?
If you do have a problem it’s either fixable or it isn’t.
If it’s fixable the guy giving you the Class One should be able to point you in the right direction
If it isn’t, you’ve only wasted the cost of the medical.
It sounds like you are hoping you can somehow squeeze through with nobody noticing the problem – trust me the one thing you don’t want to do is to get to the end of an expensive (to you) ATPL course and suddenly find yourself grounded permanently at the next medical.
Moggy
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August 4, 2009 at 1:44 pm