The Dept. of Defense has minimal fitness standards that must be met in order to enter military service. Waivers for hearing loss are not granted by USAF, although hearing loss may be waived by other services on very rare occasion. Consideration for waiver of hearing loss depends on the nature of the loss, severity of loss, and the military job that is being sought by the applicant (e.g., someone with hearing loss could not be a pilot, or work in jobs requiring acute hearing). Typically, hearing loss is waived for difficult-to-fill professional positions such as physician, nurse, lawyer, etc.
The standards for induction are ''Audiometric average threshold for each ear of not more than 25 dB at 500, 1000, and 2000 Hz, with no individual level greater than 30 dB. And, hearing threshold cannot exceed 45 dB at 4000 Hz for either ear.''
