Hmmm - so even if an audio is normal then HSE don't believe it is???
Clearly we need to remember we are screening healthy people not diagnosing deafness and prescribing hearing aids!
A sound booth is only used to attenuate the interference of extraneous sounds during a hearing test and whilst they reduce, they do not wholly eliminate reverberant and ambient noises in any event as far as I am aware. One of our sites has a booth situated adjacent to the changing rooms & we can't test during shift change! Its simply not as clear as booth or no booth.
It seems like common sense to 'screen' people and then consider if further testing is required in a booth - or indeed with appropriately attenuated headset. We should not be seeing new cases of NIHL these days and if we are then something is wrong and its not the OH screening......
Thanks Frank Look forward to your posting the new HSE guidance.
Regards,
Jane
Jane Fairburn
Occupational Health Services Director
Mobile : 07770 638 268
Office : 01925 227 000
www.people-am.com <http://www.people-am.com/>
________________________________
From: [log in to unmask] on behalf of Frank Oakes
Sent: Thu 10/01/2008 15:15
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [OCC-HEALTH] Ambient noise levels during audiometry
A very timely post.
Late last year I was privvy to a meeting with HSE who stated that they would not accept a hearing test as being valid unless it was either done in a sound reduction booth or the tester recorded the sound levels during the test with a sound meter and when the levels peaked over a certain level, I am waiting on further details of this, then the test had to be stopped and restarted so it seems that the rule of thumb 'quiet room' is a thing of the past as we can not accurately reproduce the environmental noise levels. I confirmed this via telephone again this week with HSE and they tell me there is new guidance out shortly. As soon as I get the noise levels etc. I will post them here as like myself I am sure this will make an impact on how we practice. Oh yes, they also informed me that they were investigating a number of OH providers/ companies for a variety of bad practices and they are very keen to hear of any more. Oh yes, please remember when replying I am the messenger.
Frank
----- Original Message ----
From: "Hawkes, Lynda" <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Wednesday, 9 January, 2008 11:57:49 AM
Subject: [OCC-HEALTH] Ambient noise levels during audiometry
List,
Please can someone advise me what the maximum ambient noise levels should be
when conducting audiometry without a sound-proof booth? I have looked at
"Acoustics - Audiometric test methods BS EN ISO 8253-2:1998 but have to
confess that I don't fully understand what I am reading.
Thanks
Lynda
Lynda Hawkes
Occupational Health Advisor
Thales
Aerospace Division
Scudamore Road
Leicester UK
LE3 1UA
Tel: +44 (0) 1162 594030
email: [log in to unmask]
www.thalesgroup.com
Thales UK Limited is incorporated in England and Wales. Company
registration number 00868273. Registered office: 2 Dashwood Lang Road, The
Bourne Business Park, Addlestone, Nr. Weybridge, Surrey KT15 2NX
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