Courses Leading to Certification and Recertification as an Occupational Hearing Conservationist (OHC):
Scope of Practice, Objectives and Limitations, Requirements and Curriculum Outline

1. Scope of Practice: The Occupational Hearing Conservationist (OHC; also known as an industrial audiometric technician) can, with supervision, conduct the practice of hearing conservation including pure-tone air-conduction hearing testing and associated duties (related to knowledge gained as described in Section II below). The OHC is expected to be a key member of the Occupational Hearing Conservation Program Team. OHC skills are intended for the occupational setting and may not be applicable in nonoccupational practices.
2. Course Objectives:  To prepare students to be eligible for certification through the Council for Accreditation in Occupational Hearing Conservation (CAOHC). Students will gain background knowledge as well as a basic and fundamental understanding of the following:
   1. Responsibilities and limitations of an OHC, including the need for supervision by an audiologist or physician (referred to as the “Professional Supervisor” for the audiometric monitoring portion of the hearing conservation program).
   2. Responsibilities of other members of the OHC Program Team, with particular attention to the professional supervisor
   3. Basic anatomy and physiology as they relate to hearing evaluation
   4. Types and causes of hearing loss
   5. Parameters of sound as they relate to hearing conservation
   6. Hearing Conservation Regulations: Federal (OSHA) (and, as applicable: State, MSHA, and Department of Defense)
   7. Types of audiometric instrumentation
   8. Performance check and calibration of audiometric instrumentation
      1. Biological
      2. Electroacoustic (in concept)
   9. Care and troubleshooting of instrumentation
   10. Pure-tone threshold testing and otoscopic screening techniques
   11. Appropriate feedback to employees concerning test results and criteria for employee referral.
   12. Basic concepts and principles of noise measurement and control
   13. Personal hearing protection devices
       1. Types and selection
       2. Fitting, as well as training employees to fit and use
       3. Monitoring
   14. Employee hearing conservation education, training, and motivation
   15. Basics concepts and principles of hearing conservation program evaluation
   16. Recordkeeping
3. Limitations: OHC certification has specific meaning and limitations. Certification does not prepare an individual (unless otherwise qualified) to:
   1. Assume the role of a professional supervisor of the audiometric monitoring portion of a hearing conservation program
   2. Assume the role of an instructor of other OHCs
   3. Interpret audiograms
   4. Conduct any type of audiometric testing other than air conduction, such as bone-conduction testing or speech audiometry
   5. Diagnose hearing disorders
   6. Independently evaluate hearing conservation program effectiveness
   7. Conduct noise surveys and analyses, or be responsible for noise-control solutions
4. Requirements for the Certification Course: Specific requirements for the initial 20-hour OHC Training Course (see Section V for requirements for 8 hour OHC Recertification Course):
   1. Conducted by a Course Director (CD) certified by CAOHC
   2. Student/teacher ratio of no more than 8/1 for both the audiometric practicum and the hearing-protector-fitting practicum. Practicum instructors need not meet the professional discipline requirements listed in the footnote below; they need only demonstrate competence to the CD.
   3. Student/audiometer ratio of 2/1.¹
   4. Minimum of three (3) instructors, one of which is the Course Director, representing at least three (3) of the professional disciplines that are included on the Council.² One CAOHC authorized video curriculum package may be substituted per course, in lieu of one required professional discipline instructor. This substitution must be indicated as part of the course submission documentation.
   5. An instructor who is physically present at the course shall cover the following topics. A total of 20 contact hours of teaching time is required (minimum required times shown in brackets), with the content of 18½ of those hours specified below; the content of the remaining 1½ hours is at the discretion of the CD [see Section IV (16)] but must be teaching time and not break or lunch time. Instruction time shall not exceed 8 hours/day. Topics may be taught in any order. The following sequence is provided as a suggestion, and as one that corresponds with the contents of CAOHC's Hearing Conservation Manual, 4th Edition.
      1. Introduction to hearing conservation [½]
         1. What is CAOHC and the role of the OHC
         2. Auditory and nonauditory effects of noise, including damage risk criteria
         3. Overview of hearing conservation including the elements of a hearing conservation program
      2. Anatomy and physiology of the ear, and hearing disorders [1]
         1. Structure and function of the ear
         2. Visual screening inspection of the ear normal vs. abnormal findings
         3. Causes and types of hearing loss
      3. Hearing and physics of sound [¾]
         1. The sound wave – pure tones and complex signals
         2. Frequency (Hz), amplitude (dB), and temporal characteristics
         3. Hearing thresholds and audiometric standards
         4. Other definitions – HTL, SPL, PEL, TWA, dose, etc.
      4. Federal and state regulations related to noise and hearing loss [1¼]
         1. Federal regulations – OSHA, MSHA, and the military (as applicable)
         2. State and local regulations
         3. Workers' compensation
      5. Audiometer and test environment [1½]
         1. Terminology
         2. Description of manual and microprocessor audiometers
         3. Operation of audiometers
         4. Audiometer performance checks
         5. Methods of calibration
         6. Testing environment and allowable background SPLs
         7. Basic equipment maintenance and trouble shooting
      6. Audiometric techniques [1]
         1. Aural history
         2. Otoscopic inspection, the need and purpose
         3. Instructions to subject, and earphone placement
         4. Test procedure for manual audiometric technique with bracketing method (CAOHC Hearing Conservation Manual, 4th edition, p. 69)
         5. Testing persons with normal hearing and those with hearing loss
         6. Special testing situations – hearing aids, severe tinnitus, noncompliant employees, etc.
         7. Recording the results
         8. Infection control.
      7. Audiometric practicum (supervised) [2¾]
         1. Otoscopic inspections for visualizing eardrum for audiometry
         2. Manual audiometry
      8. Review of audiometric evaluation [1]
         1. Review of functional calibration and test environment requirements
         2. Review of manual audiometric technique
         3. Additional practicum as needed
      9. The audiogram and employee follow-up [1]
         1. OHC's specific role in audiogram review and potential need for further review by professional supervisor
         2. Baseline, periodic, and termination audiograms
         3. Review of audiogram validity and reliability
         4. Reviewing the audiogram with the employee (unless otherwise prohibited by state law) – normal limits and degrees of hearing loss
         5. STS calculations, with and without age correction, and working with revised baselines in each ear
         6. Follow up – notification and retesting, plus counseling and referral as directed by the professional supervisor
      10. Noise measurement and control [¾]
          1. Description of instrumentation
          2. Noise measurement procedures and technique
          3. Principles of noise control
      11. Personal hearing protection devices (HPDs) [1]
          1. Attenuation characteristics, including real-world performance and use of the NRR
          2. Advantages and disadvantages of each type
          3. Selection considerations, including ergonomics, sufficient variety, and over protection
          4. Overview of fitting and training procedures
          5. Company policies and enforcement considerations
      12. Hearing-protector-fitting practicum, including ear inspection (supervised) [1]
          1. Use of otoscope/earlight to view auricle and earcanal, to fit HPDs
          2. HPD fitting for a minimum of (roll-down) foam, premolded earplugs, semi-insert (canal cap) devices, and earmuffs
      13. Employee training, education, and motivation [1]
          1. OSHA and MSHA required training topics
          2. Formats for successful education and motivation programs
          3. Documentation considerations
      14. Recordkeeping [1]
          1. Aural history and audiometric data
          2. Audiometer and test environment records
          3. Notification and counseling records
          4. Noise and monitoring results
          5. HPD fitting and educational documentation
          6. Requirements on record retention, transfer, and maintenance
          7. OSHA Form 300 and recordability
          8. HIPAA overview
      15. Role of the OHC [½]
          1. Responsibilities and limitations
          2. Coordination with other members of the HCP team
          3. Responsibility to employee
      16. Instruction or practicum, with topic(s) at the discretion of the CD [1½]
      17. Review of hearing conservation program [1]
          1. Summary of total program
          2. Program evaluation
          3. Question and answer period
      18. Examinations [1½]
          1. Audiometric technique including otoscopic inspection (½)
          2. Written exam per CAOHC specifications (1)
5. Requirements for the OHC Recertification Course: Specific requirements for the 8-hour OHC Recertification Course:
   1. Recertification course must be completed within five (5) years of the initial 20-hour course or previous 8-hour recertification course. Otherwise, the OHC must successfully repeat an initial 20-hour course in order to be eligible for recertification.
   2. Conducted by a Course Director certified by CAOHC
   3. A student/teacher ratio of no more than 8/1 for both the audiometric practicum and the hearing-protector-fitting practicum
   4. A student/audiometer ratio of 2/1
   5. The following topics shall be covered by an instructor who is physically present at the course. A total of 8 contact hours of teaching time is required (minimum required times shown in brackets).
      1. Federal and state regulations related to noise and hearing loss [1]
      2. Audiometer and the test environment [½]
      3. Audiometric techniques [½]
      4. Audiometric practicum (supervised) [1]
      5. The audiogram and employee follow-up [1]
      6. Personal hearing protection devices [1]
      7. Hearing protector fitting practicum (supervised) [½]
      8. Employee training, education, and motivation [¾]
      9. Recordkeeping [¾]
      10. Role of the OHC [½]
      11. Examination [½]

Footnotes

1. When an odd number of students is present the CD may choose to use a staff person to complete the pair or may use a floater so that at various times one or another student may be completing a test-related task or observing.

2. Acceptable instructors are professionals in their respective specialty. Disciplines, and suitable terminology describing them, are: audiology (Audiologist, Occupational Audiologist, Military Audiologist, Industrial Audiologist, Certified Audiologist), occupational health nursing (Occupational Health Nurse, Industrial Nurse, Registered Nurse), safety (Safety Engineer, Safety Professional), industrial hygiene (Industrial Hygienist, Certified Industrial Hygienist), occupational medicine (Occupational Physician, Occupational and Environmental Physician, Physician), otolaryngology (Otolaryngologist, Otologist, ENT Physician, ENT/Head and Neck Surgeon), and noise control engineering (Noise Control Engineer, Acoustical Engineer).

ADDENDUM: Curriculum Outline showing only major headings and times