Car Driving Licence for Hard of Hearing

Napisque on 12/01/2021 - 15:00
Last edited 12/01/2021 - 15:13 by 1 other user

I am collecting information on obtaining car driving licence. As I'm also hard of hearing, I am trying to assess if it is even possible for me to obtain a driving license. I went through VicRoads website and googled for information, but unfortunately couldn't find any hearing impaired person sharing their experience with the driving test.

I have couple of questions:-

  • I am wearing hearing aids, but I'm not confident I'll be able to listen to the tester if they sit in the back of the car. I can do lip reading, but it may not be safe to do on the roads. The VicRoads website says an AUSLAN interpreter would be provided. Apart from the fact that I don't know AUSLAN, even if I learn it, I am wondering how I would be able to keep an eye on the road if I am looking at the interpreter.

  • Is there someone who is hearing impaired and attended driving test? If you could share the experience, I would be grateful.

Automotive

Comments

  • spackbace on 12/01/2021 - 15:11
    +30

    My questions to you:

    • Can you hear the indicators?
    • Can you hear oncoming emergency vehicles?
    • Can you hear a nearby car horn?

    If you can't confidently answer yes to the above, please don't drive a vehicle. I mean that in the nicest way possible, but how would you feel if you caused damage or worse due to you not hearing something which someone else might have?

    but I'm not confident I'll be able to listen to the tester if they sit in the back of the car.

    This is really alarming for me, thinking I would share the roads with someone who might not hear my horn, or even a car screeching to a stop.

    Oh, plus you're new to this country, and how we drive etc.

    So many alarm bells

    • Strahany on 12/01/2021 - 15:47
      +10

      Gotta love the downvotes.

      Driving a 1 tonne lump of metal at high, fatal speeds is a privilege not a right. Australia has an issue with retracting driving privileges from people, with some states having very late testing for the elderly, and other states not having any mandatory testing at all.

      We don’t allow people to drive cars when you’re drunk, high, coming off of anaesthetic, whilst using a mobile phone, etc, because it impairs our ability to drive. If someone has an inherent impairment, then that is unfortunate, but it is an impairment nonetheless. The laws of physics don’t change when the crash involves a driver with a disability or age-related impairment.

      • Cheeper on 12/01/2021 - 16:00
        +10

        Ummmm… what about the hipsters with their headphones on?

        • spackbace on 12/01/2021 - 16:09
          +11

          For me, this is an issue as well. I hate seeing people with airpods in their ears etc, for the same reason I've posted above about those who are hard on hearing.

          • Caped Baldy on 12/01/2021 - 16:17
            +9

            @spackbace: Should be illegal imo. Would partly explain why I don't see cars move for emergency vehicles.

          • orangetrain on 12/01/2021 - 16:41
            +1

            @spackbace: Should vehicles not be allowed on the road with radio too?

            • Caped Baldy on 12/01/2021 - 16:50
              +3

              @orangetrain: Really?

              Earphones or headphone are more likely to block out the siren noise than a car's speakers since they're a lot closer to the ear. Especially worse since noise isolation is becoming more mainstream.

      • Caped Baldy on 12/01/2021 - 16:16
        -1

        It really irks me. There needs to be some reasoning behind the downvotes.

        People complain about speeders but people are comfortable with a potentially near deaf person behind the wheel? spackbace wrote a pretty kindly worded comment too

    • Napisque on 12/01/2021 - 16:19
      +12

      I appreciate your response. At this stage I am just collecting information on what it takes. I will not do anything that will put myself or people around me in harm’s way.

    • pao2x on 12/01/2021 - 19:03
      +7

      Hate to break it to you, deaf people are able to and should be able to drive.

    • Blue Cat on 12/01/2021 - 19:09
      +6

      I'm just gonna grab some popcorn and watch spackbace get cancelled, accused of rape and lose his job because he has a different opinion than others.

      • spackbace on 13/01/2021 - 13:00

        Lol and you got 2 negs for that

  • BOGOF on 12/01/2021 - 15:28
    +2

    I am wearing hearing aids, but I'm not confident I'll be able to listen to the tester if they sit in the back of the car

    The driving testers sit in the passenger seat, and will give instructions during the test. With your hearing aids, are you able to clearly hear someone talking from the passenger seat?

    • Napisque on 12/01/2021 - 16:16

      I can know that the tester is saying something but difficult for me to figure out without lip reading.

      • DamonT on 13/01/2021 - 08:04

        What is your diagnosis? Mild/ moderate loss of hearing? Have you had your hearing aids checked?
        In a car with the radio off and wearing heading aids tuned specifically for you, you should be able to hear instructions, but I don't know the full details of course.

    • Screamingeagle on 12/01/2021 - 18:22

      I thought that in Victoria both the instructor and the examiner go with. The instructor sits in the front passenger seat but is unable to help/say anything and the examiner sits in the back.

      I could be wrong though, I do live in QLD but it is what I heard about Victoria.

  • orangetrain on 12/01/2021 - 15:30
    +6

    It's fine to drive despite deaf. You need to be extra alert, ie watch for emergency vehicles.

    Ignore above poster, people ignore horns on the road all the time because of entitlement/rage.

    So, how deaf are you if you don't use AUSLAN?

    • Napisque on 12/01/2021 - 16:15
      +3

      I am not completely deaf. I am just hard of hearing. While I may ‘hear’ the people sitting in passenger seats or behind, I will not be able to understand without proper lip reading.

      • orangetrain on 12/01/2021 - 16:18

        Heard from someone like you that they repeat directions back to confirm their understanding. Are you able to try to hear and repeat it back then hear yes / no confirmation?

  • stringbean402 on 12/01/2021 - 15:53
    +4

    Have a read of the following, excluding those with hearing difficulties from driving is so incredibly discriminatory and short sighted. It just shows how poor the general publics understanding of hearing impairment is.

    Hearing is not actually a big part of driving and you do have a right to hold a license.

    https://hearforyou.com.au/learning-to-drive-when-your-deaf-o…
    https://www.attune.com.au/2020/07/17/fit-to-drive-does-heari…
    https://www.deafchildrenaustralia.org.au/copy-of-cate-s-stor…

  • pharkurnell on 12/01/2021 - 15:59

    Ring a local driving school.. they will tell you everything you need to know in 1/10203982304923098 the time it takes to get it from Vicroads anything.

  • Cheeper on 12/01/2021 - 16:01
    +2

    Call or visit your local motor registry. Nothing like getting facts right from the source.

  • Muzeeb on 12/01/2021 - 16:18
    +10

    My wife says…

    "it's like you don't hear a word I say"

    all the time. I've been driving fine for decades.

    • Scrooge McDuck on 12/01/2021 - 18:11

      You probably drive better for it!

    • Lovemydeals on 12/01/2021 - 20:23
      +2

      Selective hearing. Most men have a PhD in this.

  • Snake 4 on 12/01/2021 - 16:58
    +1

    Emergency vehicle drivers say number one reason drivers don't pull over is door thumping music. Equal second is panic, stupidity. and ignorance.

    • Muzeeb on 12/01/2021 - 17:13

      Source?

  • Quantumcat on 12/01/2021 - 16:59
    +2

    The tester will normally be sitting in the passenger seat not in the back. There's no problem being hard of hearing for driving - it isn't illegal to play loud music in your car for instance, which would drown out many surrounding sounds. If you're not sure you'd be able to understand the tester's directions, you could ask them to give you some hand signals. Eg put their hand over the dashboard (where you can see it in your peripheral vision even if looking at the road) and point left or right, tap the dash once for slow down, tap twice for pull over, etc. I am also hard of hearing, missing the top half of frequencies in my left ear which makes it difficult to have conversations with my passenger especially when there's lots of road noise.

    • Muzeeb on 12/01/2021 - 17:14

      The tester will normally be sitting in the passenger seat not in the back.

      Not in VIC

      • Quantumcat on 12/01/2021 - 17:57
        +2

        Ah didn't know that. I only had knowledge of ACT and NSW tests. Thanks. Maybe an exception can be made for OP so the instructor can use hand signals? Or OP should borrow a ute or sports car with only one row of seats for the test 😛

        • endotherm on 14/01/2021 - 17:46

          Until the driver gets a licence, they are deemed to be a learner. As such, they legally require a full licence holder in the passenger seat able to give instruction. That is not the job of the assessor, and his attention may be on taking notes and completing paperwork, rather than looking out for the road/traffic conditions which is the responsibility of the driver and licenced instructor.

          • Quantumcat on 14/01/2021 - 20:04

            @endotherm: In NSW there's no instructor, just the assessor in the passenger seat.

            • endotherm on 14/01/2021 - 21:55

              @Quantumcat: OP mentions VicRoads in the body of the post. I assume he is interested in Victoria.

              • Quantumcat on 14/01/2021 - 22:15
                -1

                @endotherm: What you said doesn't make sense because that isn't how it works in other states.

                If assessors can't be in charge of the vehicle then the way NSW does it couldn't exist.

                The answer is simply that Victoria does it differently, not the reason you gave which can't make sense

                • endotherm on 15/01/2021 - 06:43

                  @Quantumcat: Well that's the way it works in Victoria so it does make sense. Victoria's law requires it. Just because you can't get your head around it doesn't mean it does not make sense. Just because it is allowed in other states does not mean it cannot exist in other places. NSW has their law, Victoria has theirs. Some countries didn't allow women to drive. That doesn't mean it has any bearing whatsoever on who NSW or Victoria allows to drive. I gave the reasoning behind why it is a requirement in Victoria. NSW and the rest of the country does it differently. Does that make sense yet?

                  • Quantumcat on 15/01/2021 - 07:47

                    @endotherm: "Assessors" can't be in control of a vehicle

                    Yet NSW uses "assessors" to test people without anyone else in the vehicle

                    And they can be in control of the vehicle…

                    Are you suggesting that NSW learners don't need a licensed driver with them…

                    • endotherm on 15/01/2021 - 08:14

                      @Quantumcat: Perhaps learn to read and comprehend what is being said. You threw in a red herring about everywhere else but Victoria, where the OP is interested in. I told you what the situation is in Victoria. I never said anything about assessors and being in charge of a vehicle or not, you are throwing that around. I'd prefer someone supervising an unlicenced driver to be paying attention 100% of the time. The assessor will be taking his eyes off the road constantly to take notes. That's the way Victoria does it. I couldn't care less how NSW write their laws. Just accept it. Irrelevantly arguing what NSW does just makes you look stupid.

  • Ryanek on 12/01/2021 - 18:19
    +8

    Sorry but you can't just dismiss someones ability drive just because they have a disability. Studies have shown deaf people are no more likely to cause accidents than others (they may even have better peripheral vision), so maybe we shouldn't be so quick to discriminate.

  • Blue Cat on 12/01/2021 - 19:16
    +3

    Government (and states') websites are usually useless for specific stuff like yours, I recommend not wasting your time and call VicRoads and get the right information from them.

    You can always open your car's window a little bit (or all the way down, we can do it in warm Oz weather!) to be able to hear better as no noise will get blocked by the glass.

    I reckon if you pass the driving test and the law allows you to drive, I see no reason why you can't drive.
    You would probably drive better than those blasting "gangsta" music on full volume with "hektik" bass speakers…

  • Fier2 on 12/01/2021 - 19:39
    +7

    I don't think there are any ground to deny you the right to drive. You might not be able to hear, but many young people are driving without being able to hear a single thing because the music in their car is louder than an aeroplane taking off. Your disability is what will make you a better driver than anyone else as you will surely pay more attention to the road and use your other sense. To be honest, many people nowadays have a driver license without even being able to drive properly ( i stopped counting how many times i ve got someone cutting my way because they didn't understand road rule). If you don't need to know how to speak english to get a driver license why would you be required to hear? Auslan is a language and i m pretty sure there are many ways for you to be test. It might just take longer as you will need a special instructor . Good luck!!

  • Hardlyworkin on 12/01/2021 - 20:05
    +5

    Email some of the larger driving schools in your area to see if they can advise on the legalities and adapt lessons to your needs.

    Don't be put off by people who don't know what your rights are. You may benefit from a new vehicle with added safety features.

  • jimbobaus on 13/01/2021 - 08:34
    +5

    My cousin is profoundly deaf and she has her drivers licence

    The only stipulation for her is that the car must have 2 door mirrors
    (older cars were single mirrored)
    This is so you can see emergency vehicles approaching from behind if you can not see them
    Literally one of the reasons they have lights is so they can be seen as well as heard.

    You can certainly get a licence in Vic

    • Napisque on 13/01/2021 - 08:52

      May I know how she managed during the driving test, as to understanding the instructions of the tester?

      • jimbobaus on 13/01/2021 - 08:58

        Thats a really good question.
        Obviously she had a lot of lessons with family who could sign
        But the actual testing was done with her deafness considered.
        They allowed extra time, explained (on paper) what she was expected to do etc

        For her test Vicroads had an AUSLAN interpreter in the car

  • werdnanostaw on 13/01/2021 - 10:10

    Could have Google Live Transcribe doing speech to text running on phone or tablet on dash, mounted horizontally so you can see more words per line. Don't wear polarised sunglasses because they block image when screen is horizontal.

    You can make font as large as you need to see text.

    • Quantumcat on 13/01/2021 - 11:48
      +1

      That sounds super distracting

  • Ippy1 on 13/01/2021 - 10:34
    +6

    I'm 39, I've been deaf all my life. I use a hearing aid on one ear, plus a cochlear implant on the other.

    You'll be fine.

    From what I recall, my deafness was irrelevant as a factor when I got my licence. I'd argue I'm better than the average driver due to higher visual reliance, I've only ever been in one accident in 20+ years (not at fault). You'll need to be aware of things like indicators being difficult to hear, due to their high pitch click (most people will lose high frequencies first anyway) and make visual checks on them.

    For most of my lifetime I've been using the most powerful hearing aids on the market, so I was as deaf as it's possible to get and still use them. I've had zero issues being able to hear sirens, car horns, brake noise etc. With a cochlear implant, my hearing has actually improved in some aspects, so I'm able to hear things like the indicators much better now.

  • SteveB00 on 13/01/2021 - 10:39
    +5

    I'm hearing impaired and have never restricted my driving. There seems to be some confusion here between that—"hard of hearing" as the OP put it—and deaf. Deaf people have no (or almost no) hearing and are often deaf from birth so learn to sign etc. But everyone loses hearing as they age and usually it goes from the top down, i.e. you lose high frequencies first. Some people's hearing deteriorates faster than others'. When the upper threshold of your hearing gets low enough, you start to struggle to understand speech, because the high consonants are vital for understanding. You know someone is speaking—most of the energy in speech is below 500Hz—but it becomes progressively harder to understand what they're saying because most of the information is conveyed at higher frequencies. "Hard of hearing" people don't sign because none of their friends or families sign.

    So, in the OP's case, depending on their hearing loss, while they may struggle to understand speech without seeing the speaker, they will have no difficulty hearing horns, sirens, trucks etc. They may struggle to hear their indicators, but people with normal hearing occasionally miss them too.

    There are, as pointed out above, accommodations made so that deaf people can drive, but someone described as is 'hard of hearing' (and I went to the point where I could barely understand speech in any conditions unless I could see the speaker, before finally getting a cochlear implant) needs no accomodations … except perhaps to understand their driving examiner.

  • OzHunterNSW on 13/01/2021 - 10:58
    -3

    Google… what don't you visit your VicRoads in person? Has that ever crossed your mind. Whatever people advise here is utterly useless to you. You need to speak with VicRoads directly.

    You will possibly need to have a hearing test.

    How could you be fully aware of your surrounds if you can not hear a horn warning, or police/ ambulance/ fire brigade siren?

    You could pose more of a menace to other users.

    Driving is a privilege, not a gift. If you can not function safely upon the roads, then I would suggest you forget about this, and embrace public transport.

  • Mistymoo on 13/01/2021 - 12:36

    This thread is just showing me how little hearing impairment is understood relative to deafness. It's sad, really.

  • Mumbles on 13/01/2021 - 17:24

    This is off topic but motorcycle tests don't have the same hearing issues. A motorcycle tester/assessor is not on the vehicle with you. They stand on the ground, face the rider giving directions and since they are outdoors it's ideal lighting conditions for reading lips.

    Hearing impairment is less of an issue for motorcycle riders. A lot of riders wear earplugs due to the high noise environment.

    Emergency vehicles is less of a problem as motorcycles are so narrow its not going to prevent vehicles from overtaking.

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