Reputed commercial organisations today conduct audiology test for their employees, in an attempt of taking care of the health and well-being of people working for them. Health professionals opine workers commonly require Personal Hearing Protection (PHP) when occupational noise hazards exceed the exposure standard recommended in authorised health and safety statutory requirements.
Why Conduct Audiometric Testing?
Organisational workers are often advised to participate in hearing loss test to minimise the risk of hearing loss. These tests also ensure the functionality of hearing protection solutions. Such tests are recommended once biannually, depending on the local occupational safety jurisdictional requirements.
In audiometric testing, equipment called, the audiometer is used to determine the workers’ hearing levels. It is a simple technique that requires the concerned worker to receive a series of varying tones. For each tone, the patient needs to respond to demonstrate that they can hear the tone.
The concerned tones are essentially presented at various sound levels. The same is checked multiple times to identify the lowest level at which a person can hear. This point is known as the ‘threshold limit’ and is often compared with the ‘baseline test’. The performance is usually carried out for various frequencies, and both the ears. Thus, the doctor can effectively monitor the sharpness and acuity of an employee’s hearing over time.
The audiometric testing deters –
a)Progressive noise-induced hearing loss before it becomes an impairment
b)Temporary loss before it becomes permanent, thereby providing time to take remedial steps.
Benefits of Audiometric Testing
Routine scheduling of audiometric testing often identifies people who run the risks of significant hearing loss. Professionals recognise the changes in the patients’ hearing threshold over time. Thereafter, the employer can implement adequate treatment plans, such as reducing noise in particular regions, offering premium quality hearing protection and ensuring that the employee uses hearing protection correctly. The examination also helps determine the need for diagnosis of potential medical issues, other than workplace hearing loss, and that might affect the hearing ability of the individual.
Hear loss can affect anyone with age. One of the best ways of hearing loss is audiometric tests.