Medical hearing standard required to become a police officer
Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.23.028574
I note you seek access to the following information:
The minimum medical hearing standard required to become a police officer (in terms of decibels at certain frequency ranges.
Decision
I have today decided to disclose the located information to you in full.
Please find below information pursuant to your request above.
The following is an extract taken from the National recruitment standards - medical standards for police recruitment.
| Inner ear | ||
| Meniere’s disease | Unlikely to be suitable | |
| Benign positional paroxysmal vertigo | Likely to require further information, investigation and assessment | |
| Hearing Both ears above standard |
Likely to be suitable | Hearing standard - Hearing loss of more than a total of 84 dB over the 0.5 - 1.2 KHz range or more than a total of 123 dB over the 3, 4 and 6 KHz range. |
| Both ears below standard | Unlikely to be suitable |
|
| Hearing in one ear above standard, and hearing in one ear below standard | Likely to require further information, investigation and assessment – applicant must be assessed carefully | |
| Applicants with hearing aids that bring their hearing above the minimum standard | Likely to require further information, investigation and assessment |
For borderline cases or when hearing in one ear is above the standard and hearing in the other ear below standard, or when hearing aids are fitted, consideration should be given to a practical test of hearing to assess functional ability, for example speech and/or phoneme comprehension. |
The full document can be found here:
National Recruitment Standards Medical Standards for Police Recruitment