My feedAdmissions Advice
0
@twohid
7 answers, 27 votes
 • 3 years ago •
Admissions Advice

Would I receive any ACT accommodations for tinnitus?
Answered

So I've had tinnitus since a little after school became online (I would say I got it around May 2020). About a month ago I got an informal diagnosis but hopefully this week I'll get an official one on paper. Since it's distracting and it kind of heightens my hearing so I easily notice annoying sounds like tapping and even breathing, I'm wondering if I can get any accommodations for this for the in-person ACT. According to the ACT website, "The ADA defines a disability as a mental or physical impairment that substantially limits a major life activity compared to the average person in the general population. The guidelines of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th or 5th Edition (DSM-IV or DSM-5), are used to substantiate the presence of a disabling condition."

From what I found online, tinnitus does qualify under the guidelines of DSM-5, but I did not find any FAQs or anything answering it. What kind of accommodations would I get? I'm guessing it would fall under either a psychological disorder or a hearing impairment and I'd get to wear headphones or something either to block out sound or maybe play tinnitus therapy music (usually they're just ambiance or low beeping with ambiance). I'll shoot them an email for now since I cannot apply for accommodations until I apply for a test, but I'm trying to get an idea. I suppose my doctor's appointment this week will help too but I can't wait lolol.

So if you have any experience with ACT accommodations or find anything useful on it, let me know! Thank you!

accomodations
tinnitus
ACT
0
5

Earn karma by helping others:

1 karma for each ⬆️ upvote on your answer, and 20 karma if your answer is marked accepted.

1 answer

7
Accepted Answer
@CameronBameron
2,281 answers, 8,534 votes
 • 3 years ago

I found these 2 resources for hearing impairment provisions for both the SAT and ACT. What's probably most important is that you get an answer directly from College Board or ACT.org with regards to your diagnosis and whether it qualifies as a hearing impairment. I understand that it's clearly a hearing distraction but most of the standardized testing services give extra time for persons either deaf or hard of hearing. Your condition doesn't seem to be either but more like interference with your environment which makes it perhaps harder to focus and concentrate.

If you currently receive an accommodation for this in High School, then you have a precedent to argue with the testing service. I don't know what your expectations are or how they will rule on your application.

SAT

https://accommodations.collegeboard.org/documentation-guidelines/hearing-impairments

ACT

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwjH1cfbq8XuAhVJHjQIHeQAAhAQFjAAegQIBhAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.act.org%2Fcontent%2Fdam%2Fact%2Funsecured%2Fdocuments%2FAccomsontheACT_TAA.pdf&usg=AOvVaw3eO2s5_JXMep1uIqbdMYg7

Good luck with your standardized testing.

7
@DebaterMAX3 years ago

So for a district requirement we had to take the ACT and due to personal circumstances I got the accommodation to do it in a small testing environment with 10 other people instead of the usual 25 which had less distractions so that may be something to look at.

[🎤 AUTHOR]@twohid3 years ago

That's good to know, thank you both! The thing is with the tinnitus that I have sharp/loud noises hurt my right ear (as in the pressure increases in that ear and I hear a very long noise like my ears are popping but it's a lot longer). If the room is small and has fewer people that could potentially be worse because of the pressure in the room. Even in a home, I tend to sit in a room with no people and have some background noise to cover the noise of paper turning or even my own chewing.

[🎤 AUTHOR]@twohid3 years ago

Anyways, thank you both! I'll shoot an email to ACT and see how it goes

@DebaterMAX3 years ago

So there are “special Ed” wing of school where they stuck me and it’s about the same size as a normal classroom just less people. There’s a small possibility you may be able to get headphones but IDK anything about that.

What are your chances of acceptance?

Calculate for all schools

Your chance of acceptance
Duke University
UCLA
+ add school
Your chancing factors
Unweighted GPA: 3.7
1.0
4.0
SAT: 720 math
200
800
| 800 verbal
200
800

Extracurriculars

Low accuracy (4 of 18 factors)
Add more factors ›

Community Guidelines

To keep this community safe and supportive:

  1. Be kind and respectful!
  2. Keep posts relevant to college admissions and high school.
  3. Don’t ask “chance-me” questions. Use CollegeVine’s chancing instead!

How karma works