Hearing Conservationist Award Presented to Mark Stephenson

Congratulations to Mark Stephenson, Ph.D., a senior audiology researcher at NIOSH, who received the National Hearing Conservation Association’s Outstanding Hearing Conservationist Award. Dr. Stephenson was honored specifically for his research in the areas of hearing protection, signal detection, and hearing loss prevention programming as well as for his nearly 30 years of national leadership in the hearing conservation profession.

Mark Stephenson served as a CAOHC Council Member from November of 2003 through November of 2009. During that time Mark made significant contributions to the field of Occupational Noise Induced Hearing Loss.

NASA EARLAB Update

The hearing conservation content of the NASA Acoustical Testing Laboratory (ATL) website has moved to a new site: http://adl.grc.nasa.gov/. Please bookmark this URL, which is the website of the NASA EARLAB Auditory Demonstration Laboratory, an umbrella organization that encompasses a variety of activities, services, and products supporting the practice of hearing conservation at NASA field centers.

All EARLAB products are now available as free downloads from the new EARLAB website. These popular educational resources and training tools, formerly distributed by the Glenn Research Center Acoustical Testing Laboratory, include the Auditory Demonstrations Series, interactive training games (such as JeopEARdy), and applications (MACSUG). EARLAB's resources are free and publicly available and have been distributed worldwide to hearing conservationists, acoustical engineers, and educators worldwide since 1997.

EARLAB is also proud to announce the release of TWA Calculator, a computational and visual tool for teaching noise exposure dose concepts in an occupational hearing conservation context.

Please be sure to subscribe to the EARLAB RSS feed to receive news of future product releases and updates

CAOHC announces 12 new Professional Supervisors

NIOSH and NHCA present 2010 Safe-in-Sound Excellence in Hearing Loss Prevention Awards

Contact: Christina Spring, (202) 245-0633

Work-related hearing loss is a permanent but preventable problem. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), in partnership with the National Hearing Conservation Association (NHCA), is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2010 Safe-in-Sound Excellence in Hearing Loss Prevention Awards™, honoring those who have shown their dedication to the prevention of noise-induced hearing loss through innovative or excellent hearing loss prevention practices in the work environment.

The awards were presented at the 35th Annual Hearing Conservation Conference on February 26, 2010 in Orlando, Florida.

The award honors hearing loss prevention programs in the construction, manufacturing, and service sectors. In addition, it recognizes individuals or organizations for innovation in hearing loss prevention and their dedication to fostering and implementing new and unique advances in the prevention of hearing loss.

"This year's awardees highlight how work-related hearing loss affects people across all industry sectors," said NIOSH Director Dr. John Howard. "The impact of partnerships and innovation in developing solutions and policies to address the preventable problem of work-related hearing loss is clear in these initiatives."

The Safe-in-Sound Awards Expert Committee (comprised of experts in the fields of public health, hearing loss prevention, audiology, and industrial hygiene), evaluates applicants against key performance indicators. Examples include: development and adoption of new strategies for hearing loss prevention; demonstration of increased awareness of the value of healthy hearing and the prevention of hearing loss and tinnitus; documented reduction in noise levels and hearing loss registered longitudinally; and the use of a participatory approach between workers and employers.

The recipient for Innovation in Hearing Loss Prevention in the Manufacturing Sector is:

Etymotic Research, Inc., a research and product development group founded in 1983 that creates products designed to measure, improve, and protect hearing. It is recognized for their pioneering technical expertise, remarkable influence, ardent support, and essential sponsorship of hearing loss prevention research, services, products, and public outreach. Etymotic Research's innovations have had a direct impact on the quality, delivery, and effectiveness of hearing loss and tinnitus prevention programs.

The recipients for Innovation in Hearing Loss Prevention in the Construction Sector are:

The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (NYC DEP) and Parsons Brinckerhoff, Inc. (PB), recognized for their combined efforts in developing, implementing and overseeing the New York City Construction Noise Mitigation Rule. The rule, which is a result of a mayoral charge to update the New York City's Noise Code and create a new law establishing rules for construction noise, established noise emission limits and mitigation measures for all construction within New York City and also proactively addressed work-related exposures.

The recipients for Innovation in Hearing Loss Prevention in the Services Sector are:

Associate Professor Dr. Kris Chesky and the College of Music, University of North Texas, are recognized for their contribution towards raising the awareness of the importance of hearing loss prevention among student and professional musicians. Dr. Chesky and colleagues are pursuing innovative research and methodology, education and advocacy to contribute to the success of hearing loss prevention among individuals involved in music performances and practice. Their work is bringing additional attention to the risk of music-induced hearing loss to other professionals in entertainment venues and to the general public.

Nominations for the next awards will be accepted until September 1st, 2010. For further information please visit www.safeinsound.us.

Through research and the NORA cross-sector program, NIOSH has developed a number of resources to assist workers and employers in reducing noise exposure as well as in finding and fitting the proper kind of hearing protection and determining hazardous levels of noise. NIOSH recommends removing hazardous noise from the workplace whenever possible and using hearing protectors in those situations where dangerous noise exposures have not yet been controlled or eliminated. For more information about noise and hearing loss prevention research at NIOSH please visit http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/noise/abouthlp/abouthlp.html.

NIOSH is the federal agency that conducts research and makes recommendations for preventing work-related injuries and illnesses. Mention of any company or product does not constitute endorsement by NIOSH. More information about NIOSH can be found at www.cdc.gov/niosh.

CAOHC welcomes 16 new Course Directors

CAOHC would like to congratulate the following individuals for completing their Course Director training. Look for their courses in the upcoming year.

New CAOHC Website Feature
Occupational Hearing Conservationist (OHC) Online Verification System

Effective December 15, 2009 CAOHC will launch a new feature on our website. Due to the high demand by employers, Course Directors and Professional Supervisors to verify certification status of our OHCs, CAOHC has instituted an electronic process that will allow easy access of this information.

The process will be simple, just enter the first and last name of the OHC you are inquiring about and you will quickly be taken to verification of the OHC expiration date and their certification number.

Additional features will allow the OHC the opportunity to download a copy of their certificate and access their own records provided they have a current e-mail address on file with CAOHC. To ensure that your information is current please contact the CAOHC administrative office via e-mail at info@caohc.org or use the "Address Correction link" from the CAOHC website www.caohc.org

View OHC On-Line Credential Verification

NIOSH Science Blog - Workplace Hearing

Work-related hearing loss continues to be a critical workplace safety and health issue. It is estimated that over 22 million workers are exposed to hazardous noise on the job and an additional nine million are at risk for hearing loss from other agents such as solvents and metals.

Read more