Ambient Noise Levels in Mobile Audiometric Testing Facilities: Compliance with Industry Standards

Abstract

Excessive ambient noise levels in audiometric test booths may elevate and therefore invalidate hearing thresholds of employees included in a hearing conservation program. This study was conducted to determine if a sample of mobile test vans and trailers operating in the Midwest met the 1983Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) maximum permissible ambient noise levels (MPANLs), the MPANLs in the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) S3.1-1991, and the suggested National Hearing Conservation Association (NHCA) values. Ambi

Active Noise Reduction Audiometry: A Prospective Analysis of a New Approach to Noise Management in Audiometric Testing

“…ANR audiometry provides a much more portable and effective solution for screening audiometry. Even when inserts are used in combination with a single‐walled sound booth, ANSI standards are often not met in some mobile test facilities 1 . ANR audiometry could provide an additional level of attenuation to improve test reliability.…”

“…Low‐frequency background noise has been identified as a specific limitation of screening audiometry. Low‐frequency ambient noise is typically significant in industrial and institutional settings 1 . This is true even in circumstances where insert earphones and portable single‐walled sound booths are used 1 .…”

“…Low‐frequency ambient noise is typically significant in industrial and institutional settings 1 . This is true even in circumstances where insert earphones and portable single‐walled sound booths are used 1 . Lankford et al found that only 38% of mobile audiometric testing units complied with American National Standards Insitutute (ANSI) 1991 standards 1,2 .…”

Methodological Issues When Comparing Hearing Thresholds of a Group With Population Standards: The Case of the Ferry Engineers

“…2. Excessive ambient noise levels in the testing environment can cause elevated thresholds, frequently at 0.5 kHz and occasionally at 1 kHz (Lankford et al, 1999). 3.…”

Going wireless and booth-less for hearing testing in industry

“…Lankford et al (1999) evaluated the ambient noise levels in 13 audiometric tests booths contained in 12 different industrial mobile test vans and trailers operating in the Midwest region of the U.S. All of the industrial mobile test units complied with the 1983 OSHA permissible ambient noise levels. The majority (62%) of the mobile test facilities were out of compliance with ANSI S3.1–1991 MPANLs due to excess octave-band sound pressure levels at 125, 250, and 500 Hz.…”