Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how hearing is tested in assessments for personal independence payment.

There is no hearing examination within the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessment and the PIP Assessment Guide reflects this.

However, someone with a hearing impairment may still need to attend an assessment and they may have other health conditions. An interpreter in British Sign Language can be arranged for the assessment if a claimant contacts the Assessment Provider to request one when the appointment letter arrives.

The assessment is a functional assessment and not a diagnostic assessment so Assessment Providers do not determine if someone is deaf. It would be up to the claimant to state if they are deaf (if they chose to) and provide any supporting evidence or request an interpreter (again if they chose to).