Best Practices for Annual Hearing Tests

Details

• Personal Author:
  Azman, Amanda S. ; Schall J
• Description:
  Bill has worked at the Yourtown mine in various positions for 17 years. Because of his tasks, for the past 15 years, he has been enrolled in the mine's hearing conservation program. He received his baseline audiometric testing upon enrollment in 2004. He's had annual audiometric testing every year. A mobile test provider usually does his tests on site, and always at the beginning of the shift. Bill chooses his seat within the four-person test booth, places the headphones over his ears, and presses the response key to start the automated procedure. After the test, the mobile company provides training on noise avoidance and using hearing protection. The hearing conservation program administrator interprets the results, and that administrator changes several times during Bill's tenure due to job turnover. When the mobile provider is unavailable, Bill is sent to an off-site clinic. There, an audiologist places the headphones over Bill's ears and completes the required test. An audiologist provides the hearing test through a standard protocol used for all patients at that particular clinic. Bill has used the off-site clinic five times over 15 years, but he hasn't been there for four years. This year, in 2019, Bill's annual test at the off-site clinic reveals a standard threshold shift in his left ear, showing he has substantial hearing loss compared to his baseline testing in 2005. Bill is confused and angry - he dutifully had his hearing tested every year and he did everything the company required, but he still has substantial hearing loss. What happened? Annual hearing tests are required under the Occupational, Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) regulations as part of any hearing conservation program. Usually, these tests are provided, a comparison is made to the baseline test, then the records are marked as complete until the next year. However, as represented by Bill's story, conducting the hearing tests without considering certain factors can lead to unexpected and distressing results. Avoiding four common pitfalls will help companies follow best practices for annual audiometry testing. Ensuring that audiometry is reliable and valid helps gauge the success of the hearing conservation program as a whole. If testers are confident that their audiometric testing results are valid and that standard threshold shifts have occurred, they can then feel confident in their decision to investigate other aspects of the hearing conservation program. However, with incorrect audiometric data and inconsistent practices, testers can't know if changes in hearing are real or due to testing factors. By ensuring audiometric accuracy, a company's hearing conservation program can avoid becoming a hearing loss documentation program. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Hearing Hearing Loss Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced Mining Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Hearing Conservation Hearing Disorders Hearing Impairment Hearing Loss Hearing Loss Prevention Hearing Tests Miners Mine Workers Mining Industry
• Series:
  Mining Publications
• ISSN:
  1091-0646
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; Pennsylvania
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  PMRD - Pittsburgh Mining Research Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  32-33
• Volume:
  124
• Issue:
  9
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20057974
• Citation:
  Coal Age 2019 Nov; 124(9):32-33
• Email:
  mining@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2020
• NORA Priority Area:
  Mining
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  Coal Age
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:bf248c9f6408d85dc660cafe69a993d8cbeb1056e834063e7d58ba4e4953000120fe491af45cf7b41f95f47f3532e6757586d73b81614458bed4cfd12e26b290
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/227937/cdc_227937_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 231.99 KB ]