Guards with Hearing Aids

[_toommm_]

The other day, the guard on my train was (I think) wearing a hearing aid. I thought guards wouldn’t pass hearing tests if they had to wear one.

Can anyone confirm if the rules have changed please?

 

[NinjaJihad]

What?

 

[_toommm_]

What?

I mean it’s pretty self-explanatory. I was under the impression that to work in safety-critical roles you had to pass hearing tests without the use of a hearing aid.

As someone whose hearing isn’t the best, I was curious if you could now work on the railway with hearing aids.

 

[EssexGonzo]

Oh come on!

I wear in-ear hearing aids and they’re perfect in any F2F environment.

Does this mean that you can’t work as a guard/dispatcher/driver if you wear spectacles and can’t see anything without them?

This seems ridiculous.

 

[Darandio]

I mean it’s pretty self-explanatory. I was under the impression that to work in safety-critical roles you had to pass hearing tests without the use of a hearing aid.

As someone whose hearing isn’t the best, I was curious if you could now work on the railway with hearing aids.

NinjaJihad is hard of hearing, speak up.

 

[LowLevel]

Corrected hearing to the required standard is permitted. They'll usually already have been working for the company and had the hearing aids to mitigate deterioration that has occurred subsequently.

 

[_toommm_]

Corrected hearing to the required standard is permitted. They'll usually already have been working for the company and had the hearing aids to mitigate deterioration that has occurred subsequently.

Thanks for the reply! Not sure why I thought that you couldn’t become one with a hearing aid then - I think I read it on here but not sure.

 

[skyhigh]

I know of several guards with them, it's not an issue.

 

[185]

What?

Yep, at several firms, it quietly (!) changed about 10 years ago and the strictness was eased.

 

[_toommm_]

What?

Sorry, I’ve just realised this might have been a joke, so I apologise for my blunt response if it was a joke!

 

[Journeyman]

I believe in the past hearing aids weren't acceptable, but as others have said, they are now, in the same way that glasses are for sight. It doesn't matter how deaf/blind you are without them, if they dependably bring you up to the required standards, job's a good 'un.

It's worth pointing out that hearing aid technology improves all the time, so that probably has a lot to do with why they're now not considered a problem.

 

[iamdeaf]

I believe in the past hearing aids weren't acceptable, but as others have said, they are now, in the same way that glasses are for sight. It doesn't matter how deaf/blind you are without them, if they dependably bring you up to the required standards, job's a good 'un.

It's worth pointing out that hearing aid technology improves all the time, so that probably has a lot to do with why they're now not considered a problem.

Plus with glasses you need a spare pair.

 

[Journeyman]

Plus with glasses you need a spare pair.

I didn't know that, but it makes sense.

I had my eyes tested recently as I've got a job application in that will need an eye test. I don't actually need glasses for everyday purposes, but I'm ready to get a pair quickly if it turns out my eyesight isn't quite good enough unaided.

Or two pairs!

 

[ExRes]

I believe in the past hearing aids weren't acceptable, but as others have said, they are now, in the same way that glasses are for sight. It doesn't matter how deaf/blind you are without them, if they dependably bring you up to the required standards, job's a good 'un.

It's worth pointing out that hearing aid technology improves all the time, so that probably has a lot to do with why they're now not considered a problem.

I was able to return to driving in 2007 with a digital hearing aid, it took two years to get someone to sign the safety case mind you, at that time each company had to agree its own safety case, whether that's changed or not I don't know

 

[_toommm_]

Thanks for the replies everyone. It was a genuine question as someone who struggles a lot with their hearing (especially in our masked society), and as someone who wants to work on the railway, I thought a hearing aid was a massive barrier to working in safety-critical roles.