hearing loss and driving - Hearing Disorders Message Board

beth11 · 12-31-2008, 09:30 AM

have just been told i have sensorineural hearing loss and that i will have toi wear hearing aid and that it permanant and it will get worse will i be able to still drive and am in shock as am only 47

Chele60 · 12-31-2008, 12:05 PM

I'm not sure what the driving laws are in the U.K., but here in the U.S. one can still drive if one has hearing aids. I imagine your doctor will discuss this with you. I would think that if one were totally deaf, and hearing aids do not work, driving would not be safe as the driver would be unable to hear warning signals, emergency sirens, etc. However, with a hearing aid you should be able to function quite well behind the wheel of a vehicle. I know people do in the U.S.!

barton93 · 01-13-2009, 10:27 AM

Hi Beth....I can't imagine they wouldn't allow you to drive. My daughter began losing her hearing at almost 6 years old. She has bilateral sensorineural hearing loss and she only has 5% of her hearing left. She is just now at the age where she is beginning driving and she is eligible for a drivers license. I believe she has to have a restriction on her license that states she has to wear her hearing aids, but that is it. I can't imagine it would be much different in the UK.

Giulia · 02-10-2009, 09:26 AM

Hi Beth
Laws may be different from the UK, but in France, you can drive a car even if you are stone deaf !! You have to have a medical examination in front of a medical commission (I recognize that it's not pleasant at all

) but they can't refuse you to drive a car even if you are completely deaf.

Good luck