• Our booking engine at tickets.railforums.co.uk (powered by TrainSplit) helps support the running of the forum with every ticket purchase! Find out more and ask any questions/give us feedback in this thread!

Guards with Hearing Aids

Status
Not open for further replies.

_toommm_

Established Member
Joined
8 Jul 2017
Messages
5,845
Location
Yorkshire
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?
 
Sponsor Post - registered members do not see these adverts; click here to register, or click here to log in
R

RailUK Forums

_toommm_

Established Member
Joined
8 Jul 2017
Messages
5,845
Location
Yorkshire

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

Member
Joined
9 May 2012
Messages
636
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

Established Member
Joined
24 Feb 2007
Messages
10,674
Location
Redcar
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.

:lol:

NinjaJihad is hard of hearing, speak up.
 

LowLevel

Established Member
Joined
26 Oct 2013
Messages
7,543
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_

Established Member
Joined
8 Jul 2017
Messages
5,845
Location
Yorkshire
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.
 

Journeyman

Established Member
Joined
16 Apr 2014
Messages
6,295
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

Member
Joined
27 May 2021
Messages
6
Location
Birmingham
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

Established Member
Joined
16 Apr 2014
Messages
6,295
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!
 
Last edited:

ExRes

Established Member
Joined
16 Dec 2012
Messages
5,761
Location
Back in Sussex
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_

Established Member
Joined
8 Jul 2017
Messages
5,845
Location
Yorkshire
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.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Top