Audiometric Testing

Audiometric Testing

Excessive noise can result in long-term negative health effects such as hearing loss, tinnitus, sleep disturbances, and increased blood pressure and stress levels. A noise survey within an occupational setting is used to establish whether employees are being exposed to noise levels exceeding the allowable/recommended exposure limits (i.e., OSHA, ACGIH, etc.).

Audiometric testing is an integral part of a hearing conservation program and is necessary for compliance with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations. Specifically, OSHA requires that an employer “…establish and maintain an audiometric testing program…by making audiometric testing available to all employees whose exposures equal or exceed an 8-hour time-weighted average of 85 decibels.”

Audiometric testing is the measurement of an individual’s hearing sensitivity to pure tone, air conduction, hearing threshold test frequencies of 500, 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000 and 6000 Hz, at a minimum, for OSHA compliance. The testing must be conducted in an environment that will not interfere with the accuracy of the test (in accordance with OSHA), and each ear is tested individually using a transducer (i.e., headphones).