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Effects of age correction on identification of standard threshold shift.

Franks J

American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition, June 1-6, 2002, San Diego, California. Fairfax, VA: American Industrial Hygiene Association, 2002 Jun; :9

20022330

The age correction values provided in Appendix F of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Occupational Noise Exposure Regulations (29 CFR 1910.95) were first published in the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health's noise criteria document in 1972. NIOSH revised the noise criteria document in 1998 and expressly stated that applying population-based age corrections to individuals was statistically inappropriate and counter productive to identifying and preventing noise-induced hearing loss. An analysis of audiometric data from three large industrial sites found that applying age corrections to individuals within the database resulted in a delay in identification of a change in hearing by an average of 3.6 years. That is, a worker will spend an additional 3.6 years in the hearing conservation program without receiving intervention that may prevent additional noise-induced hearing loss. In addition, the age corrections from the OSHA regulations when compared to audiometric data for non-noised exposed workers appear to be over predictive of aging effects. Thus, even when age-correction is correctly used in programmatic analysis, remaining incidences of standard threshold shifts may be under reported.

Age-factors; Occupational-exposure; Noise; Noise-exposure; Noise-induced-hearing-loss; Industrial-noise; Industrial-environment

20020601

Abstract

2002

DART

American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition, June 1-6, 2002, San Diego, California

OH; CA