I see this is the hearing standard. Go to the back. Again, no relationships and financial relationships and no off-label use. These are the objectives of what we are going to cover. All of this is going to be available to you for like a year. So you can go back through these. FMCSA, the regulations are under statutory authority. Again, some of this as defined by the regulation. So the regulations are for hearing and obviously being a regulation, it is a law. So summary of regulation, physically qualified if able to perceive a forced whisper in the better ear at not less than five feet or does not have an average hearing loss in the better ear of more than 40 decibels with or without hearing at 500,000 and 2,000, which is the speech range. So that to me is significant and you can use either way to determine hearing. Yes. That's not speech range. It's like 500,000. The law is 500,000. It's not as possible. Well, it can go up to 3,000. However, this is what we do for bus drivers and various ones because it's in this tone as opposed for hearing loss monitoring, you do 2,000, 3,000 and 4,000. So just so you're aware of that. Now I put this on here only to point out that if you look at a soft whisper at two meters, which is basically six feet, a soft whisper is comparable to 35 decibels. Okay. So that's the reason that you can either use the audiometer and do that range, or you can do voice, but you should measure about what five feet is because again, like the smell and test yesterday that we mentioned, you need that at five feet. They do recommend, and my slides will have this, that you avoid using only S sounds. And the reason you do not want to use only S sounds is the consonant S or T are high pitch sounds. So you don't want to just do because the first hearing loss is at about 4,000 and S's and T's are up here in terms of sound. So don't use like 66, even though that is used as an example. So you might want to do 23 or something like that for your words. So whisper environment, it should be quiet and you should measure and it should be consistent. Cause consistent way. So this again will spell out for you measured at five feet and you already know what to use in terms. Now this is again, this too is the most, one of the most important points is it needs to be good. 40 decibels or better or passing the whisper test in one ear. You do check both ears, but it only has to pass in one ear as opposed to the standard for vision is both eyes. Okay, so being aware of that. Otherwise you go to the alternative vision. So hearing one ear will pass you. Audiometer booth must be done to the ANSI standard. You may run into that either on occupant medicine test or it could even be on the test, but that's the national standard. Okay, and it may be tested with or without hearing aid. We usually send ours out to an audiologist because we do not have the capability to put on the earphones if they're in hearing aid and then we get the report back. 101 pure tone audiogram indicate when you think you hear the sound, otherwise they'll all come back that they're deaf. So if they wait till they're sure and it's got loud enough that they're absolutely sure they heard it, then it puts them at higher decibels. Let's remember at 40, we're talking about a force 23. So a forced whisper at five feet and it must've been done in a booth or using a system that will monitor ambient noise. This again goes back to yesterday's. I will not have to go through these, but this is actually from the retrain FMCSA. So this would give you some of the latest of what they will say. And those of you out there that are in virtual land, just be aware of that in terms of study. So the summary of the regulation is you can use two tests if they're failing in one of them, just to confirm, to see if they may test. Either one may be administered first. Both ears must be tested, but they only need one good ear to hear. They must pass one or the other test. If both tests failed, must be disqualified. So I mentioned yesterday, two now disqualifiers are hearing and seizures. Hearing and seizures. Those are the only two right now you usually think of for waivers, okay? Hearing and seizures. So just that to me is a very important point to know. Summary of regulation meets hearing qualification. No, driver who must use a hearing aid must use a hearing aid while operating. Remember yesterday we talked about if they're glasses, then to pass during your exam, they need to put on the glasses. Hearing and driving, the important part on here is also part of the hearing of the ear system is balance. Going back to the introduction that we've had on this, that you need to look at the total health of a driver and are they likely. Now, obviously that's not part of your hearing test, but if they come in and are not balanced, that's part of your exam of knowing whether or not they could test. Responsibilities, identify ear disease. This is part of the physical that I'm not going through, but it should be all things you're considering in the total evaluation of a driver. And while the driver who fails one hearing test in both ears must be given the other hearing test. We know that. Health history questions, again, going through, let's find out, are there any other things that would make this driver unable to perform the function of the job safely? Again, the hat, protect the public. Physical examination, again, things you may be looking for. Hearing loss may be a symptom. I really am not that interested in the occlusion of the ear if they're hearing well, but it also doesn't allow you, if they are a driver in something that they could get exposed, that they could go through the eardrum. It's probably a good idea to know if it's perforated. Hearing tests, we've talked about that. Notice it's 500, 1,000, 2,000. That is kind of in general. That's more in the speech range. Hearing loss in the upper range, two, three, and four, is what's tested for noise-induced hearing loss to pass. Only required in one ear, five-feet whisper test, and how many decibels? So we've got that, and I think that's important. FMCSA guidelines, two months symptom-free for acute vestibulopathy or positional vertigo, and the guidance, not guidance. Notice that didn't say regulation, but a guidance, because a big thing that has happened is we ultimately decide what we consider safe. So guidance not to recertify uncontrolled vertigo, Meniere's disease, labyrinth fistula, non-functioning labyrinth, and additional evaluation recommended for inconclusive findings, and then you would refer them. And as I said, we have that audiometer, that was a picture of our audiometer booth, but we need to send them to an audiologist if they're wearing hearing aids to get that test document, unless with that hearing aid, they passed the whisper test. So yeah, if you don't need that other test, then you're okay. If is required wearing hearing aids, period can be for two years, and again, that idea of if they would run out. This again is from, directly from FMCFA, I made a point of that yesterday in my lecture, so that's additional on your slides, should not reflect both qualified and accompanied by a waiver. I went through that yesterday in terms of vision, remember I said. So if they're qualified when wearing a hearing aid, they don't need the waiver or exemption. What are the two things you might get a waiver or exemption for? Hearing and seizure, okay? Hearing and seizure, know those. Okay, here's the example. So they could meet the standard for two years, right? But then you drop down there if they need hearing aid, and you would put wearing a hearing aid. Notice, or you could put, wear accompanied by a waiver. So if they get a waiver, you can certify them, but that automatically knows they are not certified until they have the waiver and have that with them. Can you see both of those? So you will not mark both, and that's how that would go. Again, this is from FMCSA, you can read it later, but that is the newest training from that retrain module we were supposed to have five years ago, and it came out within like the last 12 months, I think. So hearing scenarios, Mr. Chen arrived, everything's okay, health history's okay. And he comments that he's hard of hearing in the left ear, vision's okay, and what is the hearing? Okay, he hears that whisper test, five feet in the right ear, he said he's hard of hearing in the left ear, and he is, three feet. Can he, everything was up till then, and we found out he can't hear in the left ear. Pass or not? And how long? Two years. Everything's good, okay. And then that's basically the exam, and it was, he has gone, and that's what that will tell you. Hearing scenarios, he had to see a specialist, no left ear hearing loss has been stable for years. Okay, Mrs. Jones presents for a CDL, she fails the whisper test, she then gets an audiometric test, and this is what she hears. And you can see she is at 2,050 decibels, right? So we know that's not good, at 500, she's at 50. And then in the left ear, she's at 4,500, 30 at 1,000, and 20 at 2,000. Okay, why? One year's passed. One year's passing, and remember, it has to be averaged, okay? So if we average 20, 30, and 40, but all of those are passing, right? And this would certify, and it can be for two years. Okay, if it turned out that you had a, and I don't know if I've got that later, if you had a 20, and a 20, and a 50. Okay, so you've got one, they can't hear at 40, right? One sound, but if you take 50, and 20, and 20, you get 90, you divide that by- Don't divide, don't divide, you're making it hard. Well, in my case, because I didn't, let me finish, okay. So what you would do to know that she passed, that she's better than 40, is if you divided that by three, you would end up with 90, 30. So that would pass her. Carl is right, if you can add them up, if you want quick and dirty way, if it's three into 120, it's always gonna be 40 or better, right? So he does it by just adding all three and doing 120, but I wanted you to understand that that's why it works, is if you divide by three, it gets to 40 or better. Okay, are there any questions on this? Now, I am going, this actually, hearing test is calibrated in the laws, and it tells you they'd be qualified at 40 decibels. These are, notice I have FMC, these are from the practice questions we got. I'm not going to go over these for you here, but you have the slide. It gives the explanation for them. Sorry, we really don't have time to go through them because I'm an auditory learner, but they're in there and they are practiced to me. And we've got, I've got quite a few and I've documented. So you will be able to go through that. I would suggest if you would put up, it's very short, the next one, which is other diseases, and it's even shorter. Hold on a second. We'll just go on with that one. Does anybody have any questions about audiometry versus hearing? Okay, so they do not, if they do not pass the hearing test, then what you would do, and they, you know, they look great, except they can't meet those, one of those two standards. They can't hear it. You've measured it and you didn't use all S's. So you're just checking high pitch, which is where we all lose first, whether we're getting old or noise induced. So, and then you did the audiometer and they failed. So you say to them, you know, I cannot qualify you because of this, but I can pass you, but you will require a waiver. Then they go, and I think it's, I've got information in there. They go to FMCSA and apply for a waiver. Then you've already qualified them with a waiver. And that's when you would use that. So basic, the basic thing is somebody's completely deaf. Now, today, 2023, they can get a device that looks about like your cell phone and they put it on the dashboard and it hears for them. And it'll listen for train bells, sirens, horns, and it has different things they'll do on the screen when one of those noises happens. When they get the waiver, that's one of the questions they have to answer. And there's half a dozen of these devices to let people who are deaf drive safely. I mean, way back when there was this whole thing with, you know, light bulbs on your dashboard and stuff, that's all gone. It's all become a cell phone or a smaller app. They can communicate with the driver sounds they can't hear. And getting the waiver just means they have to show that what they're doing so they can still be safe. They fail the test. Do you need to do a termination pending until- They get a card. They get- They get a card with a box check that says you must have a waiver. And then you're right through it here. They can't drive until- They can't drive until they get the hearing, until they get the waiver. Yeah. And that's completely separate from us. So if I say they have to have a waiver, because that waiver, because it's the federal government, it's going to be on its own cycle. And I'm never going to care about it. I'm always going to tell them they have to have the waiver, but I don't worry about the fact that the waiver is only going to go for another seven days because a new one hasn't come in yet. That's not my problem. That's their problem. Now I would explain the process to them the first time and help them get the right form from FMCSA because they are on the website, but I'm not going to- I don't- I give them a card because they have to have a waiver. They can't drive unless they have a card and a waiver, assuming they meet all the other criteria. Okay. So this-

FMCSA hearing regulations

driver hearing qualifications

audiometer testing

hearing aid requirements

waiver application