Illinois Administrative Code › Title 56 - LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT › Part 350 - HEALTH AND SAFETY › Subpart B - INJURY/ILLNESS RECORDKEEPING AND REPORTING REQUIREMENTS › Section 350.320 - Recording Criteria for Cases Involving Occupational Hearing Loss

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 28, July 12, 2024
a) Basic
				Requirement
If an employee's hearing test (audiogram) reveals that the
				  employee has experienced a work-related Standard Threshold Shift (STS) in
				  hearing in one or both ears, and the employee's total hearing level is 25 dB or
				  more above audiometric zero (averaged at 2000, 3000 and 4000 Hz) in the same
				  ear or ears as the STS, record the case on the OSHA 300 Log.
b) Implementation
1) An STS is defined in the occupational
				noise exposure standard (
				29 CFR
				1910.95(g)(10)(i) ) as a
				change in hearing threshold, relative to the baseline audiogram for that
				employee, of an average of 10 dB or more at 2000, 3000 and 4000 Hz in one or
				both ears.
2) Evaluating the
				Current Audiogram to Determine Whether an Employee has an STS and a 25-dB
				Hearing Level
A) STS. If the employee has
				never previously experienced a recordable hearing loss, compare the employee's
				current audiogram with that employee's baseline audiogram. If the employee has
				previously experienced a recordable hearing loss, compare the employee's
				current audiogram with the employee's revised baseline audiogram (the audiogram
				reflecting the employee's previous recordable hearing loss case).
B) 25-dB Loss. Audiometric test results
				reflect the employee's overall hearing ability in comparison to audiometric
				zero. Therefore, using the employee's current audiogram, you must use the
				average hearing level at 2000, 3000 and 4000 Hz to determine whether the
				employee's total hearing level is 25 dB or more.
3) When determining whether an STS has
				occurred, adjust the employee's current audiogram results by using Table F-1 or
				F-2, as appropriate, in Appendix F of
				29 CFR
				1910.95. Do not use an age adjustment when
				determining whether the employee's total hearing level is 25 dB or more above
				audiometric zero.
4) If the
				employee's hearing is retested within 30 days of the first test, and the retest
				does not confirm the recordable STS, the employer is not required to record the
				hearing loss case on the OSHA 300 Log. If the retest confirms the recordable
				STS, record the hearing loss illness within 7 calendar days after the retest.
				If subsequent audiometric testing performed under the testing requirements of
				the
				29 CFR
				1910.95 noise standard indicates that an STS
				is not persistent, you may erase or line-out the recorded entry.
5) In determining whether a hearing loss case
				is work-related, use Section
				350.270
				to determine if the hearing loss is work-related. If an event or exposure in
				the work environment either caused or contributed to the hearing loss, or
				significantly aggravated a pre-existing hearing loss, consider the case to be
				work-related.
6) If a physician or
				other licensed health care professional determines that the hearing loss is not
				work-related or has not been significantly aggravated by occupational noise
				exposure, the employer is not required to consider the case work-related or to
				record the case on the OSHA 300 Log.
7) When entering a recordable hearing loss
				case on the OSHA 300 Log, check the 300 Log column for hearing loss.