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Q&A
What are the hearing requirements for a DOT physical?
Can I get a DOT medical card if I use a hearing aid?
What are the hearing requirements for a DOT physical?
The driver must be able to perceive a forced whispered voice in one ear, the better ear, at not less than five feet with or without the use of a hearing aid. If the driver fails the whisper test, the medical examiner will refer the driver to have an audiometry test. The driver must pass an audiometer test before the medical certificate can be considered.
I’m a CDL driver and my concern is I’m getting hard of hearing as I get older. If I’m unable to hear a whisper at 5 feet, will I be unable to drive a commercial vehicle? Is there a waiver I need to get? What do I need to do that will allow me to continue driving?
All you will need to do is get hearing aids and the examiner will indicate you need to wear your hearing aids to pass the DOT examination. This does not place a time restriction or limitation on your DOT certificate and you won’t need an exemption.
Can I get a DOT medical card if I use a hearing aid?
Yes, as long as you can perceive a forced whispered voice in one ear, the better ear, at not less than five feet with or without the use of a hearing aid. If you use a hearing aid for the DOT physical, then you must wear that hearing aid and have it in operation at all times while driving. Also, you must be in possession of a spare power source for the hearing aid while driving.
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I drive tour bus in Indiana I’m deaf in my right ear but have a hearing aid in my left ear. Will I be able to get my dot physical next year
@Jim
Should not be an issue if you can hear a forced whisper at five feet with your good ear and the use of your hearing aid.
https://nad.org/issues/employment%20and%20vocational%20rehabilitation/Commercial%20Driver's%20Licenses
I am deaf in my right ear but hear fine out of my left ear. With the new guidelines will I pass the d.o.t. physical in Texas if I can hear the forced whisper?
@Scott
FMCSA requires that you be able to hear a forced whisper in at least one ear, so you should be good to go.
Thank God I just had ear surgery and haven’t regained my hearing in one ear
Can I take a Michigan DOT test if I am completely deaf?
@Carolyne
Each state has different rules and regulations. So check with your state Drivers License Department-DLD, and see what they have to say about your situation. Contact information for Michigan.
DOT regulations are not state-dependent. They apply to all states at all times. Individual states may have different requirements for issuing driver licenses but DOT rules are the same not matter what state the driver is from.
@ Dr Alan Shackelford
For all class A drivers, that is correct. It is not true in all states for lesser class cdl holders or non cdl holders.
What is the formula for calculating an audiometer test, to DOT standards?
@Sherri
There is no formula, just testing standards from the FMCSA guidelines.
I failed the whisper test wearing hearing aids and when they performed the audiometric test they had me remove my hearing aids so naturally I failed that also. I am in the process if getting new hearing aids. Will a audiometric report from my audiologist showing my hearing correction with new hearing aids be acceptable to get certificate. Or can the doctor doing physical do an audiometric test on you while wearing hearing aids?
@Lee
If you go in with the report in hand, you should be good to go.
I thought that to,but when I couldn’t understand the forced whisper they just gave me one yr on my card
@ Kevin
Did they also recommend the use of a hearing aid? Forced whisper done by a female examiner is much more difficult to hear than when done by a male examiner.
What is the qualified reading from the test from the audiologist in il. I had a hearing test today but the gal couldn’t tell me what the IL standard is.
@Ross
FMCSA wants a five foot forced whisper understood. Now that can be with the use of a hearing aid. If you want to know about what your state parameters are, you’ll need to check with your state DLD.
Was wondering, I only have one hearing aid, do I need to have two hearing aids?
@Caleb
Not if one allows you to hear without any problems.
Make sure you carry a spare set of batteries.
Went for DOT physical and failed hearing test. I went to Audiologist and confirmed that I require hearing aids. If I am unable to rectify the problem before my present DOT medical card expires. What would happen to my NYS CDL license ? I am presently out of work from my employer until it is rectified. Can I postpone the physical with an expired medical card? And for how long?
@Vito
Your CDL license is separate from your medical certificate. So you should be able to get your hearing situation rectified and then get a new medical certificate without worrying about your CDL. But check with your state to confirm that you have a window between medical certificates.
I live in California, and have a Medically restrictive Class B. license, for a vision issue. ( for the vision restriction I need at least 20/40 vision combined in both eyes, mine is at 20/25 in case your wondering).
For the past 8 years I have been slowly losing my hearing. And so I wear hearing aids when I am at home sometimes. On March 16, 2015, I failed both whisper test without my hearing aids, and and an audio-gram test, with my hearing aids on. I had them turned down because of a feed-back issue, I passed with my left ear failed with my right ear, he laughed and told me that I was as deaf as a post in my right ear and so I failed my hearing test. OK that is the history, here is the question. Why is he applying a Non-Restrictive Class B Commerical hearing requirement, to a California Restrictive Class B License with a Medical Waiver? Already in place?
@Bob
Not real sure why they would have failed you.
FMCSA states that if a driver can pass the hearing test, with or without the use of a hearing aid, in one ear, then he passes the examination.
Best bet is to question the examiner. One ear hears OK with the use of a hearing aid passes the test.
I just failed my whisper test. The “doctor” did not speak in a forced whisper, and I could barely hear him in a regular voice. This test is insane. Whispering could not generate more than 30 decibels, but a car horn is above 100. What is the rationale behind this silly test? I know my hearing is not perfect, but I can converse on a phone and talk to most people if they speak in a normal voice. Paying a fortune for hearing aids is crazy.
Update: Today, after failing the hearing test administered by two more doctors, I passed using the audiometric test. Humans are inconsistent – machines don’t lie. Shop around for a price – I was quoted $90 by one hearing place, but only paid $19 today for the same test. The doctor today was also cheaper, and more professional. He also passed me on the eye test (which an eye doctor had done yesterday). I would be careful of these “truck stop” docs in the future.
At my recent physical I was NOT given the whisper test first, they just used the testing device that measures to the 25 decibel range. I failed the test because of a head cold I had at the time. I have gotten over the cold and am hearing just fine but now they are telling me that Federal guidelines say that if I fail the test initially I must see an audiologist and pass a test with them before I can get my medical card. If this is true and there are no provisions allowing for temporary hearing loss because of a head cold these regulations are laughable. My question; Is it true that I must now see an audiologist?
@Mike
This is not a regulation/law, just a guideline. If they won’t provide you a re-test then go somewhere else.
Does the person taking the CDL hearing test need to know the words that are whispered or just know that something was whispered and where the whisper is coming from?
@Jessica
In most cases the examiner is asking a question or making a statement that requires an answer.
how do you obtain the fmcsa waiver for the hearing requirements to maintain a cdl license in pennsylvania
@Eugene
There is no FMCSA waiver program for hearing.
You might want to double check on this, because after doing some reading I have found that they supposedly have an exemption for deaf drivers so they can get their CDL, as of about September 2014.
I’m sorry Trucker Docs, but this is incorrect. FMCSA are indeed issuing hearing exemptions. This actually went into effect in Feb. of 2013 with 40 exemptions initially issued. That number has now increased to more than 300. Please see: https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/medical/driver-medical-requirements/driver-exemption-programs
Can I pass the hearing test wearing an amplifier? I lost my hearring aids and use this to hear the TV better.
@Angie
If your amplifier does not interfere with the operation of a commercial motor vehicle, then you shouldn’t have any issues.
I do hearing test and see driver that have passed a forced whisper test but can’t pass an aurio metric test to qualify with a 25db loss in the good ear. Why is a whisper test excepted as a good test to drive but to get a job with the prison sysyem there has to be and audio metric test.
Because that’s the way FMCSA says it ought to be. Check with them.
Is there any requirement that states a driver must wait 3 months after getting a hearing aid before he can be certified?
No, there is no wait time.
At the DOT physical exam you must be able to meet the hearing requirements with your hearing aid.
I have a bad infection in my good ear, hear better from ear that does not pass exam. Am i legal to drive?
@Jon
If you can not hear a forced whisper at five feet from either one or the other ear, then you are not legal to drive.
what if you wear the hearing aids and you’ve already told the audiologist you have to pass but still fail, then what recourse do we have.
This is a setback, as the gentleman said earlier this is our liveihood
@ Rudy
The basic test for hearing is a forced whisper at five feet. Your hearing aids with new batteries should help you pass. Also, if a woman administers the test, you may be missing her speech because you are not hearing high frequencies. Have a man with a lower voice do the hearing test. If all that fails, then you may need to check with the FMCSA regarding the hearing waiver, it’s somewhat new. I don’t have any experience with this yet, so FMCSA will be the go to guys here.
I passed the audiometry test and they still would not give me a dot card because of wisper test!! How do i go about getting a waiver! I’ve had a very safe driving record for 30 plus years!
@jimmy
If you passed the audiometry test, I do not understand why they would want to do a whisper test. The first test over-rides the second test.
But you could check with the FMCSA about the hearing waiver.
I went to take my physical, had trouble with the whisper test. I wear my aids all the time, but could not pass the whisper test this time. Is there a waiver form I might get to be able to get my card. This is my livelyhood and my only source of income, surely there is something that can help me with this issue. I am scheduled for a hearing test with my ear doctor, is there something he could do as to help in this matter, respectfully, Dave T
@David
Before I resorted to a FMCSA waiver, I would followup with your hearing doctor and let him know that you need to be able to hear a forced whisper at a distance of five feet or better. If he is unable to get you to that point, then there is a hearing waiver from FMCSA. I am not sure how long the process takes to get the waiver.
Can you be deaf in one ear and still pass the DOT physical?
@ A H
Yes. As long as you can hear a forced whisper at 5 feet in your good ear, you will pass the DOT examination. If you need to use a hearing aid, make sure you are wearing the unit and that the power source is operating normally.
Thanks for the question. Trucker Docs