Hearing conservation

Responding is Renée Lefrancois, director of audiology products, SHOEBOX, Ottawa, Ontario.

A strong hearing testing program is essential for helping to prevent and minimize noise-induced hearing loss and ensuring compliance with OSHA regulations on hazardous noise exposure. However, many employers unknowingly encounter obstacles that lead to low participation rates, inefficiencies and potentially inaccurate results.

Here are the most common missteps – and how to avoid them.

1. Relying only on testing in sound booths
Requiring employees to take hearing tests solely when a sound booth is available – whether at offsite clinics or mobile testing trucks – can be disruptive, uncomfortable and logistically challenging.

Many employees skip scheduled tests because of potentially stuffy, claustrophobic conditions often encountered in mobile testing trucks. This aversion can lead to low participation rates and associated compliance risks. Scheduling testing with a limited number of sound booths also requires careful coordination, but shift work, scheduling conflicts and absenteeism make it difficult to test everyone efficiently. Rescheduling missed tests increases costs and administrative burdens.

Expanding testing areas to include quiet, noise-monitored environments solves these issues by allowing employees to complete tests in familiar and open environments on a flexible schedule. This can lead to higher participation, improved compliance and fewer disruptions.

2. Assuming room scan noise measurements are stable throughout testing
For organizations testing in or outside of a booth, a major oversight is failing to monitor ambient noise continuously. Many organizations measure background noise once at the start of the day, assuming conditions remain stable.

However, environmental noise fluctuates significantly throughout the day – especially in a high-traffic area such as a parking lot. Not using continuous noise monitoring can easily lead to inaccurate test results, which is problematic for all involved.

A boothless testing solution with integrated ongoing ambient noise monitoring helps ensure test results are accurate, leading to more accurate results, better OSHA compliance, fewer retests and a smoother overall process.

3. Using rigid testing schedules that disrupt operations
Traditional hearing testing models often require all employees to be tested within a short time frame. This rigid scheduling creates logistical challenges – if employees miss their test because of shift work or illness, employers must reschedule or send them offsite, increasing costs and administrative burdens.

An in-house, flexible approach allows employers to stagger testing over time instead of relying on a single scheduled event. This provides more flexibility for shift workers, reduced downtime and fewer scheduling conflicts, and higher participation rates and improved compliance.

By removing the limitations of traditional mobile units, employers can test more employees while keeping operations running smoothly.

Building a better hearing testing program

Transitioning to a boothless hearing testing program improves efficiency, accuracy and compliance. Notably, partnering with a provider who offers expert clinical review, supervision services and ongoing support is essential.

Key considerations when selecting a hearing testing provider:

• Access to Council for Accreditation in Occupational Hearing Conservation-certified supervising audiologists/physicians for:
  • Shift determination and confirmation
  • Identification and review of problem audiograms
  • Baseline audiogram revisions
  • Test follow-up recommendations
• Additional support services, including:
  • Historical data migration for accurate, OSHA-compliant records
  • Mobile device setup and testing environment compliance
  • Deployment and logistical support for a smooth transition
  • Ongoing program support and professional oversight

By implementing an in-house, boothless hearing testing program with the right professional oversight, employers can increase participation, improve accuracy and reduce costs – all while ensuring compliance and protecting workers’ hearing.

Editor's note: This article represents the independent views of the author and should not be considered a National Safety Council endorsement.