FAR 67.305 — Third-Class Medical ENT Standards
FAR 67.305 sets hearing, ENT, and equilibrium standards for a third-class medical: conversational voice test, audiometry, and no vertigo conditions.
In Plain English
FAR 67.305 lays out the ear, nose, throat, and equilibrium standards you must meet to hold a third-class airman medical certificate — the certificate most private pilots and student pilots use.
To pass the hearing portion, you only need to satisfy one of three options:
- Conversational voice test: Hear an average conversational voice using both ears at 6 feet, with your back turned to the examiner, in a quiet room.
- Speech discrimination audiometry: Score at least 70% in one ear or in a sound-field environment.
- Pure tone audiometry: Meet the published worst-acceptable thresholds at 500, 1000, 2000, and 3000 Hz (ANSI 1969 calibration).
Beyond hearing, you must have:
- No disease or condition of the middle/internal ear, nose, oral cavity, pharynx, or larynx that interferes with — or is aggravated by — flying, or that interferes with clear speech communication.
- No vertigo or disturbance of equilibrium, actual or reasonably expected.
Why it matters: clear radio communication and a reliable sense of balance are critical for safe single-pilot operations, especially in IMC or busy airspace.
Regulation Text
14 CFR § 67.305§ 67.305 Ear, nose, throat, and equilibrium.
Ear, nose, throat, and equilibrium standards for a third-class airman medical certificate are:
(a) The person shall demonstrate acceptable hearing by at least one of the following tests:
(1) Demonstrate an ability to hear an average conversational voice in a quiet room, using both ears, at a distance of 6 feet from the examiner, with the back turned to the examiner.
(2) Demonstrate an acceptable understanding of speech as determined by audiometric speech discrimination testing to a score of at least 70 percent obtained in one ear or in a sound field environment.
(3) Provide acceptable results of pure tone audiometric testing of unaided hearing acuity according to the following table of worst acceptable thresholds, using the calibration standards of the American National Standards Institute, 1969:
(b) No disease or condition of the middle or internal ear, nose, oral cavity, pharynx, or larynx that—
(1) Interferes with, or is aggravated by, flying or may reasonably be expected to do so; or
(2) Interferes with clear and effective speech communication.
(c) No disease or condition manifested by, or that may reasonably be expected to be manifested by, vertigo or a disturbance of equilibrium.
Poorer ear (Db)
Better ear (Db)
3000 Hz
2000 Hz
1000 Hz
500 Hz
Frequency (Hz)
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Oral Exam Questions a DPE Might Ask
Q1What hearing standards must you meet for a third-class medical?
Per FAR 67.305(a), you must pass at least one of three tests: hear a conversational voice at 6 feet with back turned, score 70% or better on speech discrimination audiometry, or pass pure tone audiometry at the listed thresholds.
Q2Would a chronic condition causing occasional vertigo disqualify you from a third-class medical?
Yes. FAR 67.305(c) prohibits any disease or condition manifested by — or reasonably expected to manifest as — vertigo or a disturbance of equilibrium.
Q3Why does FAR 67.305 address diseases of the nose, pharynx, and larynx?
FAR 67.305(b) disqualifies ENT conditions that interfere with or are aggravated by flying, or that interfere with clear and effective speech communication on the radio.
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Related Sections in Part 67
§ 67.1
Medical Certificate Applicability
§ 67.101
First-Class Medical Eligibility
§ 67.103
First-Class Medical Eye Standards
§ 67.105
First-Class Medical ENT Standards
§ 67.107
First-Class Medical Mental Standards
§ 67.109
First-Class Medical Neurologic Standards
§ 67.111
First-Class Medical Cardiovascular
§ 67.113
First-Class Medical Standards