Council for Accreditation in Occupational Hearing Conservation (CAOHC)

CD Training and Certification

How to Become Certified as a Course Director (CD)

To apply

The applicant must: 

  • demonstrate adequate educational and professional background, appropriate credential/license and experience in occupational hearing conservation (OHC)
  • submit the application form and fee
  • sign and date a statement of agreement verifying that information supplied to the Council for Accreditation in Occupational Hearing Conservation (CAOHC) is accurate and that the applicant agrees to adhere to CAOHC standards
  • complete the Supervisor Verification Form outlining experience and number of hours devoted exclusively to OHC in the past 5 years. If  applicant managed their own business or didn't work with a supervisor, they should contact the CAOHC administrative office for additional instructions.

Professional Requirements

Applicants must document a current certification from one of these organizations:

  • American Board of Audiology
  • American Board of Industrial Hygiene
  • American Board of Occupational Health Nurses
  • American Board of Otolaryngology
  • American Board of Preventive Medicine (Occupational Medicine)
  • American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (audiology)
  • Board of Certified Safety Professionals
  • Institute of Noise Control Engineering

Credential/License Requirements

Applicants must document a current license, registration or membership with one of these jurisdictions or organizations:

  • Current licensure by a state or territory of the United States for the practice of medicine, nursing or audiology
  • Current membership in the American Industrial Hygiene Association
  • Current membership in the Institute of Noise Control Engineering
  • Current membership in the American Society of Safety Professionals

Required Experience

Applicants must fulfill at least one of these requirements:

  • A minimum of one year equivalent (1,000 hours) work experience in occupational hearing conservation activities, within the past five years (documentation required).
  • Participation as adjunct faculty and practicum assist under the direct supervision of a CAOHC-approved Course Director (CD) for one 20-hour course including all responsibilities (per the Course Director Policies & Procedures listing)
  • Applicants who have not met all requirements may attend the CD workshop, but CD status will not be granted until all requirements are met.

All OHC activities must be performed according to applicable state/federal regulations and any professional licensures/certifications.

Workshop and Application Fees

The following fees are due at the time of registration:

  • A workshop fee of $375 (military personnel are exempt from this fee).
  • A Certification fee of $175 for Initial Certification or $125 for Recertification.

Your application is considered complete when all of these applicable documents and fees are submitted:

  1. Certification Application Form
  2. Certification Application Fee
  3. Supervisor Verification of Experience for a New Certification
  4. Emailed, Mailed or Faxed Copy of your Current Credentials or License
  5. Course Director Workshop Registration Form
  6. Course Director Workshop Registration Fee

CD Policies for the OHC Workshop and Standardized Exam

OHC Certification Course Schedule

Audiometric practicum must be a MINIMUM of 150 minutes (2.5 hours) for the 20-hour course and 60 minutes for the 8-hour course. Hearing Protection practicum must be a MINIMUM of 60 minutes for the 20-hour course and 30 minutes for the 8-hour course.

Unlike the audiometric and hearing protection practica, there are no mandatory times assigned to the instruction of the 11 exam domains. Suggested times are provided and encouraged but individual CDs may adjust the schedule according to their needs. Certification courses must include a MINIMUM of 20 hours instruction including practicum and examination times. Recertification courses must include a MINIMUM of 8 hours of instruction including practicum and examination times.

CAOHC strongly recommends limiting instruction time to 8 hours per day, since longer times may cause a strain on the attention and comprehension of the students as well as the instructors.

OHC Workshop faculty policy

The CD will provide the appropriate faculty for their courses as indicated in the bullets below. CDs must be physically present during the entire course. Practicum assistants must be physically present during the audiometric and hearing protection practica.

  • The faculty of the certification course must include a minimum of three (3) different professional disciplines as represented on the CAOHC Council
  • Instruction provided by faculty, other than the CD, may be presented in teleconference, Skype, webinar, instructor narrated presentation or through CAOHC-approved video curriculum.

OHC Standardized Exam

Course Directors will administer the CAOHC OHC standardized examination in accordance with the established standardized examination policies and procedures.

  • All exams will be scored by the CAOHC administrative office.
  • OHC exam results will be delivered directly to the OHC by the administrative office.
  • Course Directors may view their class exam results in the CD Resources section of the CAOHC website. The exam results report includes:
    • Total number of candidates that pass the certification and/or recertification exam per course.
    • Individual course high score, low score and median score.
    • Individual course results for exam domain performance percentages.
    • Aggregate report of course domain/ task performance percentages.

Payment of OHC Application Fees

Course directors will pay application fees for all students when the course exams are submitted.

Fees must be submitted when exams are returned to CAOHC's administrative office.

  • OHC Fees: $75.00
  • Military OHC fees: $45.00

Special circumstances are taken into consideration as noted in the OHC Standardized Exam Policies and Procedures.

How to Recertify as a CD

Re-certifying CDs are individuals who have maintained their status as CAOHC-approved Course Director (CD) for the past five years and have met all application requirements. To recertify, applicants must submit an application with all applicable documentations and fees, meet renewal criteria, re-sign the non-disclosure agreement and achieve a passing score on the CD examination.

Professional Requirements for Renewal

CDs seeking renewal must complete the professional and credential requirements described in "How to Become Certified as a CD" section.

Course Directors who are also COHC's

  1. In order to preserve the integrity of the standardized written examination, certified course directors who wish to maintain their COHC credential must submit a COHC application to CAOHC (front section of the standardized written examination answer sheet) along with recertification fees, but they are not required to take the recertification workshop.
  2. Course Directors are not permitted to take or view the standardized written examination (certification or re-certification).

Training and Activity Requirements and Options for CD Renewal

  1. Before the expiration of current CD status, submit the Course Director Renewal application and renewal fee.
  2. Fulfill the criteria outlined in either OPTION 1 or OPTION 2 and successfully pass the CD examination, before the end of the five-year credential term:

OPTION 1:    CD workshop and exam

  1. Complete the eight-hour CAOHC CD training workshop.
  2. Complete the on-line examination with a passing score of 80% or higher.

OPTION 2:    CD exam only plus 2 additional items

1. Fulfill at least two of the following items during the five-year credential term:

  1. Serve as CD (or principal instructor who teaches more than one lecture and serves as a practicum instructor) for a minimum of 10 OHC courses with no substantiated violations of CAOHC policies and procedures.
  2. Actively participate on a CAOHC committee or task force for at least two full years. Active participation means attendance at scheduled conference calls and contribution to committee projects.
  3. Submit and have accepted for publication, a minimum of two articles in CAOHC’s UPDATE newsletter
  4. Accrue a minimum of 10 continuing education contact hours related to occupational hearing conservation.
  5. Participate as an approved instructor in one or more CAOHC sponsored CD workshops.

2. Complete the on-line examination with a passing score of 80%or higher.

Register to take the Exam Only

Renewing CDs will have seven business days to successfully complete the renewal on-line examination upon submission of their renewal application or at the end of the CD training workshop.

Renewing CD applicants will have two opportunities to achieve a score of 80% or better. CDs that do not pass the examination after two attempts will be required to take/retake the CD training workshop and pass the CD examination.

Renewal Extension Requirements

  1. CDs who are unable to renew their credential by the expiration date may request an extension. Extensions may be granted on a case-by-case basis not to exceed six months after their renewal date.
    1. Requests for extension must be received by CAOHC no later than 30 days in advance of the CDs credential expiration date.
    2. If granted, CDs may continue to conduct OHC courses during the extension period.
    3. The recertification date for CDs with extended certification will be five years from the original expiration date.
    4. CDs who do not request an extension as noted above must apply for reinstatement by completing the same process required for a new CD candidate.
    5. Requests for extension due to failure to pass the CD examination will not be considered.