Audiometry testing accomplishes several key benefits. It ensures your hearing is maintained, alerts you to any changes or unsafe practices at your worksite, and best of all, keeps you in compliance with Alberta Occupational Health & Safety (OH&S) Code. Usually, it is this last item that really gets people to pay attention.
And for good reason. The requirements of the Act, Regulations and Code have only become more stringent in recent times. With the addition of administrative penalties, this trend is likely to continue into the future. Interestingly, this affects both employers and employees in almost equal measure.
As an employer, you have an obligation to understand these rules and deploy them appropriately to protect your workers. As a worker, you are responsible for complying with regulations and understanding your role in creating a safe work environment for yourself and your peers. But does this mean that your workplace must complete audiometry testing?
Who Needs Audiometry Testing
Every employer will need to consider audiometry testing, at least to the extent that their workers are exposed to noise in the run of a typical day. They must either reduce the noise to below the Occupational Exposure Limit (OEL) threshold, or develop a hearing conservation program that includes audiometric testing. For more information about OELs, check here.
So, if your workplace is a relatively quiet environment without regular spikes in the noise level, you may not have to worry about audiometry testing. Still, many commercial and industrial companies will have at least some level of noise for their manufacturing or processing equipment. But, when does “some noise” become “too much noise”?
For that, we need two pieces of information. The first is Section 218 and the second is Schedule 3, Table 1, referred to in this section.
Section 218
An employer must ensure that a worker’s exposure to noise does not exceed
(a) the noise exposure limits in Schedule 3, Table 1, and
(b) 85 dBA LexB
Schedule 3, Table 1
| Exposure Level (dBA) | Exposure Duration |
| 82 | 16 hours |
| 83 | 12 hours and 41 minutes |
| 84 | 10 hours and 4 minutes |
| 85 | 8 hours |
| 88 | 4 hours |
| 91 | 2 hours |
| 94 | 1 hours |
| 97 | 30 minutes |
| 100 | 15 minutes |
| 103 | 8 minutes |
| 106 | 4 minutes |
| 109 | 2 minutes |
| 112 | 56 seconds |
| 115 and greater | 0 |
Basically, if noise goes above these limits at your workplace, it is time to develop a hearing conservation program and perform audiometry testing for your workers.
How to Get Audiometry Testing
We offer mobile audiometry testing throughout Western Canada. Our vehicles are equipped with all the equipment necessary to perform the testing and produce reports stating the results. To learn more about how we can help, contact us today.
Rocky Mountain Mobile Hearing Testing is your locally owned and operated Calgary business. We are committed to providing mobile hearing testing services and other safety tests, to numerous industries and companies in Western Canada. Our services are part of the WorkSafeBC Provider Network, while our sound booths are approved by the CSA. We offer audiometry testing, mask fit testing, custom earplugs, noise measurements, help with implementing a hearing conservation program, and spirometry testing. If you want to improve your workplace, leave it in the hands of our team. Contact us today on (403) 399-4775.
