Occupational Hearing Testing FAQ

Question 1

Can you run a hearing conservation program in-house?

Accepted Answer

Almost always, yes — and most employers already do. Noise monitoring, hearing protection, and annual training are typically run by internal staff already. Audiometric testing is the one element most programs send outside, so “running the program in-house” is really a question about testing. OSHA's requirements are the same either way: an audiometer meeting the referenced specifications, a compliant test environment, qualified test administration, professional review of problem audiograms, and complete records. Nothing in 29 CFR 1910.95 requires a third-party provider.

Question 2

Does OSHA require annual hearing tests?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Under 29 CFR 1910.95(g)(6), employers must provide an audiometric test at least annually for every employee exposed at or above the 85 dB action level. Each annual test is compared against the employee's baseline audiogram to check for a Standard Threshold Shift.

Question 3

Does OSHA require hearing tests to be done in a sound booth?

Accepted Answer

No. OSHA does not require a sound booth for audiometric testing. What 29 CFR 1910.95 Appendix D requires is that background noise in the test room stay below specific octave-band limits: 40 dB at 500 and 1000 Hz, 47 dB at 2000 Hz, 57 dB at 4000 Hz, and 62 dB at 8000 Hz. A booth is one way to meet them. It is not the only way.

Question 4

How do you know if workplace noise levels are hazardous?

Accepted Answer

The field test: if you must raise your voice to be heard at arm's length, noise is likely near or above hazardous levels. The compliance answer: OSHA requires exposure monitoring (sound-level measurements or dosimetry) whenever information indicates that exposure may reach the 85 dB action level.

identifying hazardous noise levels by measurement

Question 5

How do you manage a hearing conservation program across multiple locations?

Accepted Answer

Managing a hearing conservation program across multiple locations requires three things: consistent testing protocols at every site, centralized records, and scheduling controls for each site. Tablet-based systems like SHOEBOX PureTest let each location test on its own schedule, while every audiogram, Standard Threshold Shift (STS) flag, and follow-up lands in a single central database.

Question 6

How much does a hearing conservation program cost per employee?

Accepted Answer

Per-employee cost depends on both the delivery model and headcount, and the per-test quote doesn't account for model-specific costs. Compare options on full cost rather than quoted price: testing fees or equipment costs, production time lost during testing, makeup testing for absent employees, and new-hire baselines between annual visits.

Question 7

How often do audiometers need to be calibrated?

Accepted Answer

Three intervals under 29 CFR 1910.95(h)(5): a functional check before each day's use, per (h)(5)(i); an acoustic calibration at least annually, per (h)(5)(ii) and Appendix E, or sooner if the daily check deviates by 10 dB or more; and an exhaustive calibration at least every two years, per (h)(5)(iii) or sooner if the annual acoustic check deviates by 15 dB or more.

Question 8

How often does OSHA require audiometric testing?

Accepted Answer

Twice defined: a baseline audiogram within six months of an employee's first exposure at or above the action level, then a test at least annually thereafter. One exception: where mobile test vans are used, the baseline is due within one year rather than six months, and hearing protectors are required from month six until the baseline is obtained.

Question 9

Is there a template for an OSHA hearing conservation program?

Accepted Answer

OSHA doesn't publish a required template and doesn’t require a written program. 29 CFR 1910.95 defines the required actions, not documents. Writing yours down is still good practice. A good written program documents how your workplace executes each element: who monitors noise levels, how testing is scheduled, who reviews audiograms, how employees are notified, and where records live.

Question 10

Should you bring audiometric testing in-house or outsource it?

Accepted Answer

In-house testing makes sense when you need scheduling control, immediate results, and multi-site consistency. Outsourcing makes sense when the testing volume is too small to justify the cost of equipment and a trained administrator. The break-even turns on workforce size and site count. OSHA permits either model, with the same program requirements.

Question 11

What are OSHA&#8217;s audiometric testing requirements?

Accepted Answer

OSHA 29 CFR 1910.95(g) and (h) require baseline and annual audiograms for employees at or above the action level, testing by qualified personnel, audiometers meeting the referenced ANSI specification with documented calibration, a test environment within Appendix D noise limits, and defined follow-up when a Standard Threshold Shift is identified.

Question 12

What are the required elements of an OSHA hearing conservation program?

Accepted Answer

An OSHA hearing conservation program under 29 CFR 1910.95 has five required elements: noise exposure monitoring with results communicated to affected employees, baseline and annual audiometric testing, hearing protection available at no cost, annual employee training, and recordkeeping.

Question 13

What equipment do you need for workplace audiometric testing?

Accepted Answer

Four things: an audiometer meeting the specifications referenced by OSHA in 29 CFR 1910.95(h), a documented calibration regimen, a test environment verified against the noise limits in Appendix D, and a recordkeeping system that retains each audiogram with everything (m)(2) requires alongside it — including the test room's measured noise levels and the date of the audiometer's last calibration.

Question 14

What happens when an employee has a Standard Threshold Shift (STS)?

Accepted Answer

A defined sequence begins: the employer may retest within 30 days and use that result; a confirmed shift requires written employee notification within 21 days of determination; the employee must be fitted or refitted with hearing protectors, trained in their use, and required to use them; and some cases require referral for audiological or otological evaluation.

Question 15

What is a hearing conservation program?

Accepted Answer

A hearing conservation program is the set of protections OSHA requires under 29 CFR 1910.95 for employees exposed to noise at or above 85 dB as an 8-hour time-weighted average (TWA): noise monitoring, baseline and annual audiometric testing, hearing protection, annual training, and recordkeeping. Its purpose is to catch occupational hearing loss early enough to prevent progression.

Question 16

What is a Standard Threshold Shift (STS)?

Accepted Answer

An STS is a hearing change of 10 dB or more, averaged at 2000, 3000, and 4000 Hz in either ear, compared to the employee's baseline audiogram. Once confirmed, it starts a sequence of employer obligations with fixed deadlines.

Question 17

What is boothless audiometry, and is it OSHA-compliant?

Accepted Answer

Boothless audiometry allows you to conduct workplace hearing testing without a sound booth. Instead of a fixed booth, systems like SHOEBOX PureTest use calibrated, tablet-based audiometers with continuous ambient noise monitoring that checks the room against OSHA's maximum permissible ambient noise limits (MPANLs) while the test runs. Testing happens on-site on your schedule.

Question 18

What is mobile (on-site) audiometric testing?

Accepted Answer

Mobile audiometric testing brings the test to the workplace: traditionally, a van or trailer with built-in booths that visit on a scheduled date, and, more recently, tablet-based systems that test inside your own facility year-round. Both are “on-site.” They differ in scheduling, capacity, and what happens between visits.

Question 19

What is OSHA 29 CFR 1910.95?

Accepted Answer

29 CFR 1910.95 is OSHA's occupational noise exposure standard for general industry. It sets the permissible exposure limit (PEL) at 90 dB as an 8-hour time-weighted average (TWA) and, through the Hearing Conservation Amendment, requires a full hearing conservation program at the 85 dB action level.

Question 20

What is SHOEBOX PureTest?

Accepted Answer

SHOEBOX PureTest is an FDA-listed, iPad-based audiometer that meets the audiometer specifications OSHA references in 1910.95(h) and is validated for use outside a sound booth. It runs automated pure-tone air-conduction testing, continuously monitors ambient noise against OSHA's Appendix D limits, and syncs every audiogram, threshold shift flag, and follow-up state to the SHOEBOX Data Management Portal.

Question 21

What is the OSHA noise exposure limit?

Accepted Answer

OSHA's permissible exposure limit (PEL) is 90 dB, averaged over 8 hours, using a 5 dB exchange rate, meaning every 5 dB increase halves the permitted exposure time: 4 hours at 95 dB, 2 hours at 100 dB. Separately, the 85 dB action level triggers a required hearing conservation program even though it sits below the PEL. The same 5 dB exchange rate applies.

OSHA noise exposure limits: 85 dB versus 90 dB

Question 22

What must an employer do when noise exposure reaches 85 dB time-weighted average (TWA)?

Accepted Answer

At 85 dB time-weighted average (TWA), the same five obligations begin under 29 CFR 1910.95: noise exposure monitoring with results communicated to affected employees, baseline and annual audiometric testing, hearing protection available at no cost, annual training, and recordkeeping.

Question 23

What should you look for in workplace audiometric testing equipment?

Accepted Answer

Judge equipment against these four requirements, noting which of them the equipment itself has to satisfy. Two belong to the audiometer: it must meet the specifications OSHA references in 1910.95(h), and it must hold calibration — a functional check before each day’s use, and acoustic calibration at least annually. The third, a test environment inside Appendix D limits, is a property of the room rather than the instrument. OSHA requires the room be measured with a Type 2 sound level meter and a Class II octave-band filter set; it says nothing about what device does the measuring. A standalone monitor satisfies it. So does an audiometer that measures continuously while the test runs — the practical difference is whether you hold a single reading from before the test or evidence that the room stayed in range for the whole of every test. The fourth, recordkeeping, is the one whose consequences show up years later.

Question 24

When is a hearing conservation program required?

Accepted Answer

A hearing conservation program is required when any employee's noise exposure equals or exceeds 85 dB averaged over an 8-hour shift. That's OSHA's “action level” under 29 CFR 1910.95(c) — a trigger, not a limit. It sits below the 90 dB permissible exposure limit (PEL), which means exposures between 85 and 90 dB do not exceed an exposure limit and still require the full program.

Question 25

When must a baseline audiogram be completed?

Accepted Answer

Within 6 months of an employee's first exposure at or above the 85 dB action level, per 29 CFR 1910.95(g)(5)(i). The baseline must be preceded by at least 14 hours without workplace noise exposure, per (g)(5)(iii). Hearing protectors may substitute for the quiet period.

Question 26

Which industries need workplace hearing testing, and why?

Accepted Answer

Manufacturing carries more of this obligation than any other part of general industry: in FY2025, occupational noise exposure was one of the ten most frequently cited Federal OSHA standards in the manufacturing sector. Any general industry employer whose workers are exposed at or above 85 dB as an 8-hour time-weighted average must run a hearing conservation program under 29 CFR 1910.95. Within manufacturing, that most often means fabricated metal products, machinery, plastics and rubber, food and beverage processing, and wood products. Outside manufacturing, the obligation follows measured exposure rather than sector: airport ground operations, warehousing and distribution, utilities, waste handling, and grounds maintenance can all reach it.

industries requiring hearing testing, by measured exposure

Question 27

Who is qualified to perform OSHA hearing tests?

Accepted Answer

Under 29 CFR 1910.95(g)(3), audiometric tests must be performed by a licensed or certified audiologist, otolaryngologist or other physician, or by a technician (CAOHC-certified or with demonstrated competence) responsible to one of those professionals. A technician who operates a microprocessor audiometer does not need federal certification.

Question 28

Who reviews occupational audiograms, and what does OSHA require?

Accepted Answer

OSHA 29 CFR 1910.95(g)(7)(iii) requires that problem audiograms be reviewed by an audiologist, otolaryngologist, or other physician who determines whether further evaluation is needed. A problem audiogram is one whose results warrant professional judgment rather than routine filing: one showing a Standard Threshold Shift (STS), or one with an unusual configuration, a large asymmetry between the ears, or signs that test conditions affected validity.

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Noise Monitoring

How do you know if workplace noise levels are hazardous? More detail

What is the OSHA noise exposure limit? More detail

Which industries need workplace hearing testing, and why? More detail