HEARING CONSERVATION

Hearing Conservation Amendment Summary

The Hearing Conservation Amendment (1910.95 (c) - (p)) dictates that all employees whose noise exposures equal or exceed an 8-hour time-weighted-average (TWA) of 85 dBA must be included in a hearing conservation program composed of five basic components:

Exposure monitoring

audiometric testing

Hearing protection

Employee training

Recordkeeping.

Note that, although the 8-hour TWA permissible exposure remains 90 dBA, a hearing conservation program becomes mandatory at an 8-hour TWA exposure of 85 dBA.

The hearing conservation program is the foundation for hearing conservation.

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