The OSHA 300 Log records work-related injuries and illnesses, including occupational hearing loss. A hearing loss case is recordable when two conditions are met in the same ear: a standard threshold shift of 10 dB or more at 2,000, 3,000, and 4,000 Hz, and a total hearing level of 25 dB HL or above at those same frequencies (29 CFR 1904.10(a)).
The OSHA 300 Log records all work-related injuries and illnesses, including occupational hearing loss. A hearing loss case is recordable when two conditions are met in the same ear: the employee has experienced a standard threshold shift (an average change of 10 dB or more at 2,000, 3,000, and 4,000 Hz relative to baseline), and the employee’s total hearing level in that ear — averaged at those same three frequencies — is 25 dB or more above audiometric zero (29 CFR 1904.10(a)). Both conditions must be present simultaneously in the same ear. If the STS occurs in one ear but the 25 dB hearing level threshold is met only in the other, the case is not recordable. Three distinctions matter in practice. First, the recordability determination is separate from the STS determination under 1910.95 — a confirmed STS does not automatically produce a recordable case. Second, age correction may be applied when evaluating the STS component of recordability, but it cannot be applied when evaluating whether the 25 dB hearing level threshold is met. Third, if a retest within 30 days does not confirm the STS, the case does not need to be recorded. If the retest confirms it — or no retest is conducted — the employer must enter the case on the OSHA 300 Log within 7 calendar days of that determination (29 CFR 1904.10; 29 CFR 1904.29(b)(3)). SHOEBOX: SHOEBOX PureTest automatically calculates STS against the established baseline upon test completion. The Data Management Portal flags confirmed shifts and tracks retest scheduling, giving the EHS manager a clear record of when the STS determination was made — the reference point for the 7-day recording clock.
