Frank Hochman was born deaf in New York City in 1935. After high school, Hochman went on to the City College of New York, where he earned a bachelor's degree in biology in 1958. Hochman wanted to go on to medical school but could not find a school that would accept him because of his deafness, so he worked as a chemist for a number of years for St. Joseph's Hospital in Queens and for the New York Department of Health.

Hochman applied to medical schools again in 1971 and was accepted to Rutgers Medical School at the age of 37. He completed his master's degree in 1974 and earned his M.D. in 1976. After completing residencies in two California hospitals, Hochman began private practice. He was the founder of the Society of Hearing Impaired Physicians.