Hearing impaired in the military

Discussion in 'Warfare / Military' started by riza, Mar 21, 2011.

  1. riza

    riza Member

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    What are your thoughts of them joining? Many of us are fully capable and I for one wouldn't mind serving for 2-4 years.

    I was told there are many jobs that don't require hearing or even if they do (I can wear hearing aids) can be done as an assistance to someone else who can hear.

    I WANT TO HELP MY COUNTRY IN THE MOST DIRECT WAY POSSIBLE!
     
  2. Makedde

    Makedde New Member Past Donor

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    I am certainly not against it. I have a hearing problem myself and if there was something I was able to do, I wouldn't want anyone to refuse to allow me to do it.

    I wouldn't put them out in danger though, like on the frontline. They may not be able to hear when it matters most, but I am sure there are many other ways they can assist.
     
  3. Jack Ridley

    Jack Ridley New Member

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    If you want to help your country go start a business, don't grab a gun.
     
  4. riza

    riza Member

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    Hm, currently hearing impaired people can't join the military, you know that right?

    Hm funny I have that sentence capped, I dunno why. It was night around 3AM.
     
  5. Herkdriver

    Herkdriver New Member

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    After the military accepts an applicant with a medical condition,
    they become responsible for the treatment of that medical condition for life....
    through the VA. Also, the VA may have to pay monthly disability payments, if the worsened condition results in an employment disability.

    This is why, given the choice, the military would rather not give medical
    waivers to the already hearing impaired.
     
  6. riza

    riza Member

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    I understand but think about it. Tons of things that a deaf / hard of hearing person can do. Cook, clean, administrative work, logistic, etc. I personally think that would save more money and be better in the long run. There are many who are not receiving disability check from the gov't like myself and can't find work (despite the fact that I have good grades in college and doing computer science/math major in CUNY).
     
  7. Herkdriver

    Herkdriver New Member

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    I don't know what else to tell you. Given the choice, the military
    prefers able-bodied persons over someone with a known medical condition.

    There are other ways to serve your country aside from military service.
     
  8. macljack

    macljack New Member

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    Depends on how severe the hearing problem is, based on that I'm sure you would be unable to do certain jobs due to safety reasons. However I see no reason why they should not be allowed to join and serve in a role that is well within their capabilities.
     
  9. NaturalBorn

    NaturalBorn New Member Past Donor

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    Every troop in the military is first and foremost an Infantryman. If you can not be an Infantryman, then a civil service job or the Peace Corps is where you can best serve.
     
  10. mikezila

    mikezila New Member

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    i feel your pain, but you really need to be able to hear what's going on around you to make it through boot camp alive. have you considered a career with the Public Health Service?
     
  11. macljack

    macljack New Member

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    I have to disagree, what about support troops? such as clerks, drivers, mechanics, etc. today's modern military forces have a very skewed tooth to tail ratio and there is no reason why hearing impaired individuals cannot serve in the tail role.
     
  12. brianm_34

    brianm_34 New Member

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    I would like to agree with you, but... I was Navy and let's say we have a mass casualty situation(ship is under attack). Saving the ship requires an all hands effort, which means everyone gets involved. A hearing disability could put many lives at risk because of one badly interpreted order. I cannot tell you how it would work in the Air Force perhaps.
     
  13. Herkdriver

    Herkdriver New Member

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    Serving in the military is not a right, it is a privilege.

    I can think of a myriad of reasons why someone who is significantly
    hearing impaired would be a liabilty, even in a support role.

    Let's take just one example of the occupations you offered.

    Truck driver.

    Radio communications is a vital part of the driver's job...say this driver lost power to his hearing aid,
    or it was destroyed...the inability to communicate with them would be a liabilty.
     
  14. Mushroom

    Mushroom Well-Known Member

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    Yea, but at what cost?

    I am currently serving, and I have a "Hearing Profile". But mine is service connected, after many years of working on ranges and heavy equipment.

    And everybody has to have a decent level of hearing. In a field condition, orders must frequently be shouted, and people can die of an order is not relayed because somebody did not hear it right. And if you are on an observation post at night, hearing is a critical need.

    And these are not just done by "grunts". In time of conflict, anybody may end up in a foxhole fighting for their lives. The US Military is not a jobs program, and should never be treated as such. ANd many of those jobs are already handled by civilian contractors, which is far cheaper then wasting a person in uniform doing them.
     
  15. My Fing ID

    My Fing ID Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    The problem is the tail is getting hit. They don't want to fight infantry in Iraq and Afghanistan, they want to hit supply convoys. I'm not saying all wars are like this war but in this war there is no rear in theater. The only 'rear' is back in the US. You don't really want to take on troops who cannot be deployed. Kinda sucks because it would be nice if anyone who wanted to serve could but there is a real reason for drawing the line at physical disability.
     
  16. riza

    riza Member

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    For the next 2-4 years for example, I can work on the air force as some kind of maintenance on US land, no? Unless are you actually telling me that the chance of enemy setting foot on US land is actually there.

    Keep in mind I can hear with hearing aids. It is not absolute deafness so I can do everything but go in water.

    So air force - give me a tech related job, I do it, poof. I dont' see why not.

    Why do they allow criminals into the military but not deaf/hard of hearing? We are talking about convicted murderers.
     
  17. Mushroom

    Mushroom Well-Known Member

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    No, because as a general rule, individuals are not sent overseas as individuals, but as entire units. Every time I ever deployed, it was as a member of my Battalion, not as Corporal or Specialist Martin. It was as part of 2/2, or part of 1-43.

    So if your maintenance or support unit is deployed, it becomes a major issue if Airman So-and-so is not deployable because of some kind of issue. Especially if that person is part of a criticaly needed function that can't be done now.

    Then you can do those services for some civilian company. There are 10,000 aircraft maintenance companies already out there, that work on the aircraft for everybody from private pilots to major corporations and government agencies. Feel free to do service on INS helicopters, or Postal Service jets.

    Nobody is stopping you from serving your country, there are more ways to do this then joining the military.

    Then talk to Boeing, Lockeed, or one of the many thousands of Defense Contractors. They all have individual contractors (Tech Reps) who are often even assigned to individual units. For almost all purposes they are part of the unit, just paid better, better living conditions, and less BS.

    Really, murderers? I mean actual convicted murderers, who have not had their conviction overturned in any way?

    Proof please. Because my son was deemed ineligable a couple of years ago because of a single burglary charge. The criminal waivers were only for a very short time, and were picky in what kinds of crimes would be waived. Drug offenses, sexual offenses, and most violent crimes were never waived.
     
  18. Makedde

    Makedde New Member Past Donor

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    How bad does the hearing loss have to be before the military won't accept you?
     
  19. Mushroom

    Mushroom Well-Known Member

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    Well, here you can find the requirements for the hearing part of the enlistment physical:

    http://usmilitary.about.com/od/joiningthemilitary/a/hearing.htm

    And on that scale now, I barely pass. On a scale of 1-4 for allowable hearing levels (1 being perfect hearing and 4 being unfit), I come in at a 3. But I passed the hearing test when I first came back in, and that was good enough.

    Now if my hearing degrades more, then I will likely be discharged for it.
     
  20. Makedde

    Makedde New Member Past Donor

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    I'd likely fail their test quite badly, lol. I can barely hear a thing without my hearing aids. I'll be screwed when they finally give up the ghost as I can't afford another pair.

    But I think that if someone really wants to serve the country, there must be something they can do - even if they are profoundly deaf.
     
  21. GramCleric

    GramCleric New Member

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    The issue is deployability. If someone cannot deploy.. the military doesn't want them.

    As was mentioned earlier.. it's almost always entire units that deploy.. not individual persons.

    If it's any consolation.. there are a plethora of medical/financial/etc reasons why people get discharged or not allowed to even enlist.
     
  22. NaturalBorn

    NaturalBorn New Member Past Donor

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    You do not get to choose your duty station or even your job, (if you can not complete the training, you will be assigned where the military wants you.)

    Get a job with the Peace Corps. Your service will be appreciated.
     
  23. Courtney203

    Courtney203 New Member

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    One of the problems with this is that many people do not have one single job anymore in the military. A guy passing out towels at the gym may actually have to go on convoy duty. If you were to say, take that spot, and are undeployable because of your handicap, then that would mean someone else is going to have less time at home with their family because rotation times would be shorter due to less individuals being deployable. And in an era when downsizing seems to be the new trend, individuals HAVE to be deployable.
     
  24. Herkdriver

    Herkdriver New Member

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    I can't add much from what has already been stated.

    These are all good replies to the young man wishing to serve.
    It's commendable that he wants to do this, given the number
    of able bodied young men who prefer springbreak in Daytona Beach
    to serving their nation...

    but I digress.

    It is absolutely...nothing personal against Riza...I developed advanced
    prostate cancer while in the Reserves and resigned my commission rather than
    seek the endless "queep" and paper-work trail getting a medical waiver.

    We were at war on two fronts at the time, and it was better I simply resign
    my commission since I was no longer able to perform the duties I was
    trained to do.

    It's a painful decison...you feel less of a man quite frankly...you get mad
    at "God" and think "why me"..the stages of grief are very real. ...but not to
    get too far off topic and overly anecdotal...

    to Riza I say...do not feel ashamed or less of a person, less of a man for
    having a hearing disability that keeps you out of military service...

    plenty of bums have worn the uniform...character deficient if not physically...
    and eventually they get separated from the military...a uniform does
    not make or break your character, that my friend comes from within.

    I think it's admirable you want to serve, and even though this may not be possible
    for reasons out of your control..your hearing impairment...there are other ways to serve this nation that are as equally valuable.

    so good luck Riza, and chin up. Don't feel any less of yourself.
     
  25. riza

    riza Member

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    The problem with doing that is Postal Service jets for example require pilot training that you usually get from former Air Force pilots. The vast majority of US jobs prefer former military one way or another.

    Actually as a deaf / hard of hearing, a lot of doors are closed to me and folks like me. Sure there are outliers but the vast majority of hard of hearing I know are out of jobs but are capable / willing to work.

    True, but they also require another thing when I last spoke to one - security clearance. The best place to get them is in the military, I was told you basically get it automatically (first level) when you join the military and do that kind of work that require one in the first place.

    Lockheed for example want someone who has trust from the military, some experience, etc before you do anything.

    Just look at the news and the year on it, every year they lower the standards. Just google this.

    http://www.vamortgagecenter.com/blog/2008/04/21/military-enlists-convicted-felons/
    http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/07/30/eveningnews/main3115199.shtml
    http://www.slate.com/id/2182752/

    There are news from 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, etc that military keep lowering standards and letting almost anyone in that they fill they need to fill the spots on.

    If you wear hearing aids like me, you definitely can't join the military.

    Depressing if you think about it. Many people can and are willing to serve in one way or another.

    Did you ever look at the requirement for Peace Corps? They may or may not let deaf / hard of hearing people serve too. Many people with medical / criminal / financial problem may NOT serve in Peace Corps. To make it harder, college degree is required unlike the military (unless you do officer).

    http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...&q=deaf+military&aq=f&aqi=g1g-v3g-b3&aql=&oq=

    It's an on-going issue. Tons of deaf want to serve, just look.

    Maybe we should make it less strict on the deaf? Just have an entire department / research on what they can or cannot do. You seriously cannot tell me there is not a single thing a deaf person cannot do. I have arms and legs and I can run faster than many people due to the fact that I have nothing else to do so these days I just exercise or study for school.

    I am what is considered "very high quality" to a recruiter apparently, judging by these standards. I have both physical and intelligence if it were not the hearing problems. Tons of deaf are like me - that resource should not be wasted.
     

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