Audiometric Testing for Workplace Hearing Conservation
Baseline and annual hearing tests for employees exposed to noise, with results your safety team can compare, track and act on.
- Baseline audiograms
- Annual testing
- Threshold shift review
- Employer records
One Stop Shop for Noise Monitoring and Employee Hearing Tests
Measuring noise shows where the hazard is. Audiometric testing shows whether your workers’ hearing is actually being protected. BIW Safety provides employee hearing tests alongside noise surveys and personal dosimetry, so employers can run a hearing conservation program with one coordinated provider instead of several. Every test is compared with the worker’s own baseline, so changes show up early, while there is still time to act.
Baseline & Annual Audiograms for Employees Exposed to Noise
OSHA’s hearing conservation standard requires employers to make audiometric testing available, at no cost to the employee, for workers whose noise exposure equals or exceeds an 8-hour time-weighted average of 85 dBA. Testing starts with a baseline audiogram, followed by an audiogram each year that is compared with that baseline. BIW Safety can manage the testing for your workforce, from the first baseline to each annual follow-up.
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Baseline audiograms
A valid reference test for each newly enrolled employee, so every later result has an accurate starting point to be compared against.
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Annual audiograms
Yearly pure-tone testing of each ear, compared with the employee’s baseline to catch hearing changes early.
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Threshold shift review
Each annual test is checked for a standard threshold shift so the employee and employer can be informed and follow-up can start on time.
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Employer reports & records
Results organized by employee and group to support your hearing conservation records and recordkeeping questions.
How Annual Tests Are Compared to Baseline
The key question in every annual audiogram is whether the employee’s hearing has changed since the baseline. OSHA calls an average change of 10 dB or more at 2000, 3000 and 4000 Hz, in either ear, a standard threshold shift. When one is found, the employer has specific follow-up duties, including written notice to the employee and a review of hearing protection.
Catching a shift early gives employers the chance to correct the problem before it becomes permanent hearing loss.
Why Businesses Choose BIW Safety for Audiometric Testing
- 30 years Safety and industrial hygiene services supporting employers and workers.
- Noise and hearing tests together Noise surveys, personal dosimetry and audiometric testing coordinated in one hearing conservation program.
- Advanced education Master’s-level education in occupational health and industrial hygiene.
- Specialized credentials Certified Hazardous Materials Manager and industrial hygiene practice experience.
- Bilingual communication Instructions and employee communication available in English and Spanish.
- Employer-ready reporting Results organized for your safety team, with threshold shifts flagged for follow-up.
OSHA Standard Threshold Shift vs. NIOSH Significant Threshold Shift
OSHA and NIOSH define a meaningful change in hearing differently. BIW Safety keeps the two clearly separated in reports so employers know which criterion carries a legal obligation and which is a prevention benchmark.
OSHA (enforceable)
Standard threshold shift: an average change of 10 dB or more from baseline at 2000, 3000 and 4000 Hz in either ear. It triggers notification and follow-up duties under 29 CFR 1910.95.
NIOSH (recommendation)
Significant threshold shift: a change of 15 dB or more at any test frequency from 500 through 6000 Hz in the same ear, confirmed by a second test. A more sensitive prevention benchmark, not a substitute for the OSHA standard.
What to Expect on Test Day
A hearing test is short, painless and straightforward. Here is what each employee goes through.
- Time away from noiseEmployees arrive after a quiet period away from workplace noise, or use hearing protection beforehand, so results reflect their hearing and not a temporary noise effect.
- Instructions and headphone fitThe tester explains the process and fits the headphones.
- Tones in each earThe employee presses a button each time a tone is heard, at each test frequency, one ear at a time.
- Review against baselineResults are compared with the employee’s baseline and reported to the employer.
What Employers Need to Know About Audiometric Testing
- OSHA requires employers to make audiometric testing available, at no cost to the employee, for workers exposed at or above an 8-hour TWA of 85 dBA as part of a hearing conservation program.
- A baseline audiogram must be established within 6 months of an employee’s first exposure at or above the action level; a limited extension applies when a mobile test van is used.
- Audiograms are repeated annually and compared with the baseline. Tests are pure-tone, air-conduction tests of each ear at a minimum of 500, 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000 and 6000 Hz, performed by a qualified professional.
- When a standard threshold shift is found, the employee must be notified in writing within 21 days, and the employer must follow up on hearing protection, including refitting, retraining or providing more protective devices.
- A standard threshold shift can also raise OSHA injury and illness recordkeeping questions (29 CFR 1904.10), so results should be reviewed promptly.
- Audiometric test records must be kept for the duration of the employee’s employment.
Audiometric Testing for Construction, Manufacturing, Mining & Industrial Workforces
BIW Safety can set up testing for any workforce enrolled in a hearing conservation program, scheduled around your shifts. Mine operators have parallel audiometric testing requirements under MSHA 30 CFR Part 62, and BIW Safety can help coordinate testing for those operations as well.
- Construction
- Manufacturing
- Mining
- Fabrication
- Heavy-equipment repair
- Maintenance shops
- Warehousing
Schedule Employee Hearing Tests
Need baseline audiograms for new employees, annual testing for an existing program, or help reviewing a threshold shift? Contact BIW Safety with your number of employees, work shifts, and whether you already have noise survey or dosimetry results.