January 20, 2010
Is there a chance I can join the Canadian Armed Forces if I wear digital hearing aids(goes inside)?
SnoDawg asked:
I wear hearing aids that hang over my ears. Now I can check with my local recruiter, or the medical support worker and the recruitment office. I need someone who’s in the military to answer, it can be others too.
Advice on the best software
I wear hearing aids that hang over my ears. Now I can check with my local recruiter, or the medical support worker and the recruitment office. I need someone who’s in the military to answer, it can be others too.
Advice on the best software
Filed under Hearing Aids by admin
Comments on Is there a chance I can join the Canadian Armed Forces if I wear digital hearing aids(goes inside)? »
Randy B @ 3:51 pm
No, your hearing when you join is tested unaided the same way your eyes are. If your unaided hearing is not up to the minimum standard for your planned (hoped for) trade then you will not get in.
When I joined as an MP we had to have a min eye score of a V3. (in layman’s terms) V1 is perfect, V2 is minor corrective lenses and V3 is stronger ones. Anything more then that and you could not join. IF, once you join and work for a number of years, your eyes go to being a V4 (which mine recently did after 24 years) they will hold a Career Review Board in Ottawa to determine if you are going to be kept in without restrictions, kept in with restrictions (which means no more postings, promotions or career courses), made to remuster to another trade that allows for V4 eyes or released (fired, layed off, let go…)
The same holds true for hearing. If you want, for example, to be an MP then you must have at least an H2 rating which means that you essentially have normal hearing but with some minor loss. No big deal. If you need hearing aids then I would suspect that your hearing would be worse then that and you wouldn’t meet the standards. If on the other hand you wanted to be a cook or a clerk and their trade specs allowed for H3 then if you meet THAT standard you could join.
The problems will be, for example, when you deploy overseas (which you will) where will you get the load of batteries you will need for the hearing aids? If you lose or break one where will you get the replacement? Without either you would be unable to do your job and would be useless to the forces. As the motto goes, if you are not deployable then you are not employable.
Check with recruiting however don’t be surprised if the standards do not allow you to join.
yada yada @ 3:59 am
I know you asked about the canadian military, I only know about the USA. Here you would be automatically disqualified you would be checked out by a doctor and given a series of hearing tests. Depending on what the results are you are given a list of jobs they would let you have. Chances are they would be non-combat. So if you don’t mind having limited career options I’d say why not try. Go talk to a recruiter and see what he can tell you.