Although most commuters and corporations will require only that you have a current medical, a major airline will usually give a candidate a thorough physical.
You should start preparing weeks in advance, even months, with a physical exercise program. If you fail to do so, however, you definitely should not start a couple of days before the physical. Any sudden change could adversely affect the results. In addition, you should not change your diet unless it is a prescribed diet sent to you by the company to prepare you for the physical. A change in diet also could adversely affect the results.
How to Prepare for a Medical Evaluation (General Guidelines)
You should:
- Follow your usual diet/exercise program.
- Avoid excess (smoking and caffeine).
- Not drink alcohol for two to three days before the interview.
- Not exercise strenuously for 24 hours prior to the interview.
- Be well rested.
- Be well hydrated.
- Avoid noise for two to three days before the interview (by using ear plugs).
- Think positively; let go.
- Have an "executive type" medical evaluation on your own, reviewed by a Flight Surgeon.
- Be prepared to explain abnormalities/variations.
- Do not deceive, but also not tell more than you are asked.
- Follow the company's instructions.
- Have realistic expectations about results.
- Not knowing your true health.
- Having no documentation of abnormalities.
- Being in poor control of the risk factors.
- Cramming for the exam" (avoid extremes).
- Being tired, dehydrated, noise fatigued, nutritionally deficient.
- Not taking the medical evaluation seriously.
The urinalysis tests performed include:
- Routine check.
- Drug screening.
Blood Pressure
Blood pressure is checked for the following:
- High/low/normal pressure
- Hypertension (abnormal)
When checking blood pressure, the airlines are trying to determine that a pilot falls within the normal ranges. Hypertension is a frequent/constant state of elevated blood pressure, and this condition is abnormal. It can, however, be controlled by diet and regular exercise. You may want to consider purchasing a home monitoring unit so that you can check your own blood pressure regularly.
Hearing
The hearing tests usually include:
- Eardrum flexibility (by audiogram and tympanometry).
- Audiogram and hearing loss check. (Wearing ear plugs and avoiding high-level noise a few days before the test can improve the results.)
The audiometer (an instrument for measuring hearing thresholds for pure tones of normally audible frequencies) measures the weakest audible signal that one can hear at different frequencies. In other words, if a pilot has a hearing deficiency, the signal needs to be made louder by increasing the number of decibels. In addition to testing the middle-frequency voice range, the audiogram also can uncover high-frequency hearing loss, an important finding, as it is the first warning of potential permanent damage.
By far the most common cause of hearing loss to pilots is noise. Noise damage affects the high-frequency range first, long before it alters the voice range. Therefore, if you already have a high-frequency hearing loss, you can anticipate that with continued noise exposure (without adequate protection) the voice range eventually will suffer. It is important to note that noise factors other than those that are created by aircraft can cause the same degree of damage to hearing.
The FAA is concerned primarily with the frequencies of the voice range, i.e., 500, 1,000, and 2,000 cycles per second. If a hearing loss, one tested by audiogram, is in excess of 25 decibels (considered a severe loss) in either ear, this would then call for a more extensive evaluation.
A frequently asked question about hearing is, "If I have a waiver from the FAA for hearing loss, will a company give me a second thought?" The answer depends entirely upon the severity of the loss, plus the competition for the job you are seeking. Consider this, however: At the time of each exam, the FAA is only concerned about your flying ability, medically speaking, for the next six to 12 months. As an economical investment, however, a pilot's worth to a company must be evaluated for "20-plus years" from the date of employment. If you have a severe high-frequency hearing loss and are competing against an applicant who does not have any hearing impediment, you, as the hearing- impaired pilot, may lose out because the airline evaluators will expect you to have the greater risk of being medically grounded in the future.
Blood Tests
Blood tests are performed to determine:
- Anemia and blood cell disease.
- Blood fats (cholesterol, HDL, LDL, triglycerides).
