Going wireless and booth-less for hearing testing in industry

Abstract Objective: To assess the test–retest variability of hearing thresholds obtained with an innovative, mobile wireless automated hearing-test system (WAHTS) with enhanced sound attenuation to test industrial workers at a worksite as compared to standardised automated hearing thresholds obtained in a mobile trailer sound booth. Design: A within-subject repeated-measures design was used to compare air-conducted threshold tests (500–8000 Hz) measured with the WAHTS in six workplace locations, and a third test using computer-controlled audiometry obtained in a mobile trailer sound booth. Ambient noise levels were measured in all test environments. Study sample: Twenty workers served as listeners and 20 workers served as operators. Results: On average, the WAHTS resulted in equivalent thresholds as the mobile trailer audiometry at 1000, 2000, 3000 and 8000 Hz and thresholds were within ±5 dB at 500, 4000 and 6000 Hz. Conclusions: Comparable performance may be obtained with the WAHTS in occupational audiometry and valid thresholds may be obtained in diverse test locations without the use of sound-attenuating enclosures.

[1]  T. Frank,et al.  Hearing thresholds, threshold repeatability, and attenuation values for passive noise-reducing earphone enclosures. , 1997, American Industrial Hygiene Association journal.

[2]  Wes McKinney,et al.  Data Structures for Statistical Computing in Python , 2010, SciPy.

[3]  Warwick Williams.  The calculation of maximum permissible ambient noise levels for audiometric testing to a given threshold level with a specified uncertainty , 2010 .

[4]  J D Durrant,et al.  Maximum Permissible Ambient Noise Levels for Audiometric Test Rooms. , 1993, American journal of audiology.

[5]  Brian E. Granger,et al.  IPython: A System for Interactive Scientific Computing , 2007, Computing in Science & Engineering.

[6]  Faheema Mahomed,et al.  Validity of Automated Threshold Audiometry: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis , 2013, Ear and hearing.

[7]  J E Lankford,et al.  Ambient Noise Levels in Mobile Audiometric Testing Facilities: Compliance with Industry Standards , 1999, AAOHN journal : official journal of the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses.

[8]  Eric Jones,et al.  SciPy: Open Source Scientific Tools for Python , 2001 .

[9]  John D. Hunter,et al.  Matplotlib: A 2D Graphics Environment , 2007, Computing in Science & Engineering.

[10]  C. Themann,et al.  Real ear attenuation at threshold for three audiometric headphone devices: implications for maximum permissible ambient noise level standards. , 1992, Ear and hearing.

[11]  De Wet Swanepoel,et al.  Hearing assessment-reliability, accuracy, and efficiency of automated audiometry. , 2010, Telemedicine journal and e-health : the official journal of the American Telemedicine Association.

[12]  Clark Jl,et al.  Three studies comparing performance of the ER-3A tubephone with the TDH-50P earphone. , 1988 .

[13]  J. L. Clark,et al.  Three studies comparing performance of the ER-3A tubephone with the TDH-50P earphone. , 1988, Ear and hearing.

[14]  De Wet Swanepoel,et al.  Validity of diagnostic pure-tone audiometry without a sound-treated environment in older adults , 2013, International journal of audiology.

[15]  R A Dobie,et al.  Reliability and validity of industrial audiometry: Implications for hearing conservation program design. , 1983, The Laryngoscope.

[16]  Donald E Morgan,et al.  Automated pure-tone audiometry: an analysis of capacity, need, and benefit. , 2008, American journal of audiology.

[17]  T. Frank,et al.  Effects of background noise on earphone thresholds. , 1993, Journal of the American Academy of Audiology.

[18]  Kristy K. Deiters,et al.  Stimulus and transducer effects on threshold , 2015, International journal of audiology.

[19]  James W. Hall,et al.  Diagnostic pure-tone audiometry in schools: mobile testing without a sound-treated environment. , 2013, Journal of the American Academy of Audiology.

[20]  J. Jerger,et al.  Preferred Method For Clinical Determination Of Pure-Tone Thresholds , 1959 .

[21]  De Wet Swanepoel,et al.  Clinical validation of automated audiometry with continuous noise-monitoring in a clinically heterogeneous population outside a sound-treated environment , 2016, International journal of audiology.

[22]  A. Stuart,et al.  Test-retest variability in audiometric threshold with supraaural and insert earphones among children and adults. , 1991, Audiology : official organ of the International Society of Audiology.

[23]  E H Berger,et al.  Comparison of the noise attenuation of three audiometric earphones, with additional data on masking near threshold. , 1989, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[24]  T Frank,et al.  Ambient noise levels in industrial audiometric test rooms. , 1994, American Industrial Hygiene Association journal.