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Industrial Hearing Testing May Be an OSHA Requirement for Your Company
By Dr. Rodney Atack Published: 05/10/2010
Many companies may be exposing their employees to unsafe noise levels and not even know it. If you are, OSHA requires you to develop and maintain a Hearing Conservation Program which includes annual industrial hearing testing of these employees. By answering just 16 questions below, you’ll know whether or not your employees need industrial hearing testing.
OSHA requires that each worker in the Hearing Conservation Program must get an original audiogram, called a baseline, within six months of starting work in a risk area to determine how well he/she hears before they are exposed to noise by this employer. Thereafter, the employee must be industrial hearing tested every year.
Take this short quiz (provided by OSHA) to find out if you need a Hearing Conservation Program.
1. Have you conducted a noise survey to determine if your workplace has work processes or equipment that equal or exceed 85 dBA?
2. If your workplace has noise levels that equal or exceed 85dBA averaged over an eight-hour period, have you implemented a Hearing Conservation Program?
3. Are hearing protectors available at no cost to employees exposed to noise levels that equal or exceed 85 dBA averaged over an eight hour period?
4. Do employees use hearing protectors with noise-reduction ratings that reduce workplace noise levels below 85 dBA?
5. Are employees trained annually about the effects of noise on hearing, the purpose of hearing protectors and how to use them, and the purpose of audiometric testing if they are exposed to noise that equals or exceeds 85 dBA averaged over an eight-hour period?
6. Have employees exposed to noise work processes or equipment had personal exposure monitoring assessments to determine their eight-hour time-weighted averages?
7. If your workplace has noise levels that equal or exceed 90 dBA averaged over an eight-hour period, are you using engineering or administrative controls to reduce employee exposure below the
90 dBA limit?
8. Are employees permitted to observe exposure-monitoring evaluations?
9. Are employees notified about exposure-monitoring results that indicate they are exposed at or above 85 dBA averaged over an eight-hour period?
10. Are exposure-monitoring evaluations repeated when there are changes at your workplace that may affect noise levels?
11. Do you keep employees’ exposure-monitoring records for at least two years?
12. Are baseline and annual audiometric tests given at no cost to employees who are exposed to noise that equals or exceeds 85 dBA averaged over an eight-hour period?
13. Do you ensure that employees are not exposed to workplace noise for at least 14 hours before their audiometric tests?
14. Does a licensed or certified technician, audiologist, otolaryngologist, or physician conduct employees’ audiometric tests?
15. Do you keep employees’ audiometric test records for the duration of their employment?
16. Is there a copy of the noise standard that applies to your workplace available for employees to review?
Did you know that ALL of your answers should be “yes?” It’s true!
If you answered no to any of these questions, or aren’t sure, a simple sound level survey or individual dosimeter survey will help you determine if your employees are being exposed to unsafe noise levels and whether or not your company is required to develop and maintain a Hearing Conservation Program.
For more information, for assistance on any of the above 16 points, or to get a sound level survey to determine if your workplace has work processes or equipment that equal or exceed 85, go to www.indhearing.com
About the author (long version)
Dr. Rodney Atack, PhD. is recognized as a national leader in the prevention of hearing loss in the workplace. He was a principal architect of the US Army's and Department of Defense's Hearing Conservation Program and a consultant to the Surgeon General for Audiology and Hearing Conservation. Currently, Dr. Atack is the chief Audiologist for Industrial Hearing Service, a leader in mobile hearing testing services for the western U.S. To schedule onsite mobile hearing testing, or develop an OSHA-approved Hearing Conservation Program, go to http://www.indhearing.com
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