 |
 |
Dear James I would agree with Paul. The physiological effects of Temporary Threshold Shift (TTS) means that you are safer performing hearing tests at the start of a shift as your colleague does, along with a signed declaration from the employee that they have not been exposed to "noise" for a set number of hours, possibly 4 from memory, prior to the test should be acceptable. Personal stereos and even noise from a long journey in a noisy car with the stereo turned up can cause TSS. The test will be seen as invalid if you cannot prove that poor results were due to the effects of TSS, as testing whilst working in a noisy environment cannot exclude the possibility of TSS. Kind regards Elaine -----Original Message----- From: Bradley, Paul [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: 03 March 2004 11:05 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: Audiology James, MSG 26 states that "Unless there is a prolonged (16 hours or more) period free from high noise levels prior to testing, or scrupulous care is taken with hearing protection usage in the hours before the test, it is difficult to exclude any contribution from TTS". This is the only reference to a timed exclusion from noise that I'm aware of. Regards Paul -----Original Message----- From: James Beresford [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: 03 March 2004 10:55 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Audiology I'm asking this on behalf of a colleague. She is currently undertaking hearing tests before a shift starts at 0630. Can anyone point us to definitive guidance that states that hearing tests have to be undertaken before a shift starts and how long does a worker have to be away from a noisy environment during a shift before a valid hearing test can be done? She has tried the HSE, audiology companies, but no-one seems to have definitive evidence-based guidance. With kind regards, James Beresford Occupational Health Adviser RN MIIRSM MIOSH DipOHN Spohn Heales Medical Ltd ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Please remove this footer before replying. Visit http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/occ-health.html for list archives ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Please remove this footer before replying. Visit http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/occ-health.html for list archives ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Please remove this footer before replying. Visit http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/occ-health.html for list archives