Can I be a police officer with hearing loss?
princessbetty001 asked:
Can I be a police officer with hearing loss?
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on Thursday, June 25th, 2009 at 12:00 am and is filed under Law Enforcement & Police.
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Can I be a police officer with hearing loss?
I have serve to profound hearing loss. However, it hasn’t been much of a bother. I’m really good at communication, hearing others in loud background, and I read lips very well. Is there a chance I can become a police officer? Please tell me honestly, I’ll accept the truth no matter how difficult it is.
June 27th, 2009 at 4:23 pm
nope not a chance. you need to hear really well
July 1st, 2009 at 2:15 am
Sorry, you cannot. Good sight and hearing are requirements.
July 1st, 2009 at 7:11 pm
I could be wrong, but wouldn’t excluding someone with hearing loss be against the Americans with Disabilities Act? I mean, if you can perform all required abilities (passing police academy, etc.) why would you not be able to be a cop? There are definitely some police officers who are not very intelligent, but they passed the tests. Why couldn’t a hearing impaired / anyhting impaired individual be any worse? I would consult your local police department on this one!
July 2nd, 2009 at 2:44 am
its not against the disability act.some jobs are excluded from having to follow that for the safety of the individual applying as well as the people around them.yes during the physical they will conduct hearing and vision tests and if your hearing is below the required level you could be disqualified.most agencies will give you a conditional offer before the physical which states that if you cant complete the medical or any other requirement of the dept you wil be disqualified for employment. my advice to you is to see if a hearing aid will help you out any. im red green color blind i cant read the dot book but i have an extensive resume so they sort of overlooked that requirement and let me take another test.so keep trying see if that hearing aid works if being a cop is your dream dont stop trying and if someone tells you its impossible let that make you try even harder.i had a muscle disease as a child along with bad color vision people told me i couldnt do it either but i didnt listen to them and im glad i didnt!
July 2nd, 2009 at 8:46 am
I’m sorry but no. The reason I know is I spent 26 years in a large Texas PD and during that time my hearing went bad from noise exposure I received during my time in the Army. I was barred from going back to patrol, however, since I was already employed prior to my hearing loss, they had to make accomadations, such as admin jobs. But, if you really want to do something in the LE field, remember, there are other jobs than being a PO. How about the lab, or such, maybe something with Child Protective Service, etc. Don’t focus just on being a PO when it comes to the LE field.
Good Luck.
July 3rd, 2009 at 11:48 pm
You can try. It is not an automatic DQ. If one says no try another.
In my very large city we have a number of officers with profound hearing loss. They had to be able to hear the radio and shouted commands, no line of sight. One guy wears a bone conduction unit attached to his handie talkie.
Public safety does not violate ADA by excluding someone with a certain amount of hearing loss, but all departments do not exclude automatically.
If the department or area of the country does not work out heed what gene from Texas said.