Hearing for FC1

[Guest]

There was a dude in my FC1 group at Wright Patt who took the hearing test like 5 times before he passed. He said something along the lines of "you just have to pass, there's no limit to the number of times you can attempt the test"...seems fishy to me, but the docs at WP seem to agree with that sentiment.

Nothing really says you can't, so that turns into you can do it as long as the tech is willing to test you. The test is meant to test your absolutely best hearing (in a best-case scenario), so there technically isn't anything wrong with this approach. Another way might be to say there isn't anything technically good about it either, as the member should have done their best the first go-round, so it does seem a bit fishy.

Just out of curiousity, how do you verify that? I can imagine multiple ways to do it, just curious about how it's actually done. Does PMEL or whoever come in and remove the booth to test it?

They could just have a sound level meter in the room outside the booth recording the ambient sound levels during testing. Then if someone complained about outside noise they could just check the measurements that were taken and see exactly what the ambient noise level was.

This. BEE tests them annually. Our booths were between 10-25 dB across the sample frequencies. Check out the OSHA guidance compared to AFOSH. Air Force is much more stringent, however again, ambient noise is allowed to be around 50 dB in some frequencies, depending on the most recent ANSI standard, which updates every 4 years or so.

My statement was misleading, those were two seperate questions. Testing the ambient during a test and testing the booth to make sure its within spec. The 20 dB ambient allowable is probably assuming the booth is within its specs - if one isn't correct, the other measurement no longer matters.

Don't get me wrong, 20dB is pretty damn quite, but two grown men having a conversation in a room the size of a closet is louder than 20dB. I would expect it to be around 50-60 dB for a normal conversation.

Again, just curious as to how they actually handle that, removing a booth to verify it's within spec has to be a pain in the ass!

See above. We try to be quiet. Your guys were probably jerks, but I wouldn't invalidate this test out of hand.

It is always reassuring for pilots to hear that the folks over in the hospital are hair trigger and safety off.

Sweet. Thanks for being on the team.

I'll take doing my job and not pencil-whipping paperwork for 200, Alex.

But for whatever reason, over 25 or so hearing tests I've aced every one despite vigilant hearing test monitors like you. Still can't hear a damn thing my wife says, though. Hmmm.

Sensory perception does not equate to listening skills or language comprehension. Also, thanks for regularly wearing your hearing protection whenever exposed to hazardous noise, both on and off duty.

Seriously though, I imagine you've had some loss; it likely just hasn't reached the 30 dB threshold among 2-4Khz. On another note, I've met aircrew and maintainers with great hearing after 20+ years on the job because they always wore hearing protection. This isn't the case for every job thought (sorry EOD and CATM).

I should've clarified that I am following the guard route. I was told by the personnel at MEPS that the guard has a 'slightly different' way of handling the FC1. Can any/somebody claify that? From my research all air force aviators (AD, reserves, and guard) all take the same FC1 physical.

For FC1, the waiver authority is always with MFS/Wright-Pat. Otherwise, it usually breaks down to the individual state's SGP and they can have their own waiver criteria. With FC1 though, you must follow the Air Force standard waiver guide criteria, per AFI 48-123 Attch 2.

I'm not sure, but I went in May. I guess I wouldn't really recommend going to Scott if you can help it; my shit still hasn't been approved yet and I'm not the only one! I know others who got selected at the same time as me and went to WP, and they're already at OTS.

YOu can get some portions of the physical done at other installations, but everyone I've ever spoken with still needs to do some physical processing at MFS in WP. My advice, do it all at WP if at all possible. Edited October 16, 2012 by deaddebate

[Guest]

I'll take doing my job and not pencil-whipping paperwork for 200, Alex.

Thank you Sgt micro picture. Put yourself in for a Douchemanlike Conduct medal. You are a credit to yourself and the United States Air Force.

[HossHarris]

What?