Hearing Corservation Program

Hearing Conservation Program
Summary: The purpose of the University of California, Irvine (UCI) Hearing Conservation Program (HCP) is to help protect UCI employees from hearing loss due to occupational noise exposure. |
1. Program Description
2. Scope
3. Definitions
4. Responsibilities
5. Program Components
6. Training Requirements and Competency Assessment
7. Information andExternal References
1. Program Description
The purpose of the University of California, Irvine (UCI) Hearing Conservation Program (HCP) is to help protect UCI employees from hearing loss due to occupational noise exposure. Although UCI attempts to control noise exposures on campus, certain operations and workstations may expose faculty and staff to significant noise levels. All personnel who areregularly exposed to occupational noise levels at or exceeding an 8-hour time-weighted average of 85 dBA are included in the Hearing Conservation Program (HCP).
2. Scope
2.1 This HCP applies to all employees of UCI.
2.2 The departments or occupations that may be at risk to elevated noise levels may include the following:
* Central Plant
* Grounds Keeping
* Machine Shop
*Carpentry Shop
* Key Shop
* Housing and Dining Services
* Engineering
2.3 UCI's Hearing Conservation Program includes:
* Noise exposure assessments
* Audiometric testing
* Hearing protection
* Employee education and training
* Recordkeeping
3. Definitions
Action Level:
The level of noise exposure at which:
•  An employee must be enrolled in the HearingConservation Program and provided audiometric testing
•  Representative noise exposure monitoring is required by EH&S
•  Hearing protectors and training on noise hazards must be provided to the employee
*Cal/OSHA has set the current action level at 85 A-weighted decibels, or dBA, over an eight-hour period.
Audiogram Testing : Exams that measure the sensitivity of a person's hearingthreshold in decibels. The testing also establishes a baseline hearing threshold that is compared to later exams to determine if hearing loss has occurred.

Audiologist : A professional specializing in the study and rehabilitation of hearing, who is certified by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association or licensed by a state board of examiners.
A-Weighted: The A weighting, expressed as dBA,is the scale used for most occupational noise measurements. The A weighting approximates the range of human hearing as it filters out lower frequency noises, which are not as damaging as the higher frequencies.
Baseline Audiogram : The audiogram against which future audiograms are compared.

Continuous Noise : Noise levels that vary with intervals of one second or less.
C-Weighted :Expressed as dBC. The C weighting filters include both high and low frequency noise and are used for impact noise and in the selection of hearing protection.
Decibels (dB): A measure of the sound level (loudness). The decibel scale is a logarithmic scale; as an example, a 90 dB noise is ten times louder than a 80 dB noise.
Frequency: A sound's pitch measured in hertz (hz); high pitches are highfrequency sounds.
Hearing Protection Devices (HPD's): Personal protective equipment that is designed to be worn in the ear canal or over the ear to reduce the sound level reaching the ear drum. Examples include ear muffs or plugs.

Hearing Threshold Level (HTL) : The lowest threshold that the employee can hear the test tone during an audiometric test. The HTL's are recorded on the employee'saudiogram.

Hertz (Hz) : A unit of measurement of frequency, expressed as cycles per second.
Impulse/Impact Noise : Noise that is a sharp burst of sound, generally less than one-half second in duration, that does not repeat itself more than once per second.
Noise: Unwanted sound.

Noise Dosimeter : An instrument worn by an individual that integrates the sound level exposure over a period of time....