Posted on Friday, September 4, 2026 6:00 pm
If your team works around loud machinery, power tools, or heavy engines, federal law likely requires you to test their hearing every year. Audiometric testing is how you meet that requirement — and how you catch early hearing loss before it turns into a permanent, and expensive, problem. Here's what employers need to know before your next round of tests.
What Is Audiometric Testing?
Audiometric testing is a hearing exam that measures how well an employee can hear across a range of pitches. The employee sits in a quiet, sound-treated booth, wears headphones, and presses a button each time a tone comes through. It takes only a few minutes per person and is completely painless.
There are two kinds of tests you'll deal with:
• Baseline audiogram — the first test, taken when an employee starts working in a noisy environment. Every future test is compared against it.
• Annual audiograms — repeat tests done once a year to track any change over time.
The baseline is the reference point that makes everything else meaningful. Without it, there's no reliable way to show whether a worker's hearing has actually changed on the job.
When OSHA Requires Hearing Tests
Under OSHA's occupational noise standard, hearing testing kicks in once workers are exposed to an average of 85 decibels or more over an eight-hour shift — a level OSHA calls the “action level.” For reference, that's roughly the volume of heavy city traffic or a busy factory floor. Once you cross that line, you're required to:
• Provide a baseline audiogram within six months of a worker's first exposure
• Offer annual audiograms for as long as they remain exposed
• Make hearing protection available and train employees on how to use it
The industries that most often fall under these rules include manufacturing, construction, oil and gas, warehousing, and transportation — many of the same employers HealthCARE Express already works with across Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana.
What a “Standard Threshold Shift” Means for You
The reason annual testing matters comes down to a term called a Standard Threshold Shift, or STS — an average drop of 10 decibels or more in an employee's hearing compared to their baseline. When a test shows an STS, it triggers specific employer obligations: you generally have 21 days to notify the employee in writing, and depending on the results, the shift may need to be recorded on your OSHA 300 log.
This is exactly why turnaround and paperwork on these tests matter. A result that sits in limbo doesn't just delay care for your employee — it can put you behind on a compliance clock.
How HCE Makes Audiometric Testing Simple
“Most employers know they need annual hearing tests — where they get tripped up is turnaround. Our audio booth is at one location, but regular hearing tests can be done at any of our clinics, so scheduling is never the bottleneck. We keep the exam quick and get results and documentation back to the employer fast, so a threshold shift never catches anyone off guard.”
— Kim Crockett, Occupational Medicine, HealthCARE Express
At HealthCARE Express, audiometric testing is part of a full occupational medicine program built around one idea: your workforce can't afford to wait, and neither can your business. We handle the test, document it properly, and get results back to you quickly — so you stay ahead of both your compliance deadlines and your employees' health.
Because HealthCARE Express runs walk-in occupational medicine clinics across Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana — including our Texarkana and Longview locations — you can fold hearing tests into the same visit as DOT physicals, drug testing, and other required screenings. One stop instead of several. Learn more about [our occupational medicine services — internal link].
What to Tell Your Employees Before Their Test
A clean audiogram depends on a little prep. Ask employees to avoid loud noise — including loud music through earbuds — for at least 14 hours before their test, or to wear hearing protection during that window. Recent noise exposure can temporarily shift results and muddy the baseline you'll be measuring against for years to come.
Ready to set up hearing testing for your team? Connect with our occ med team → [gohce.com/locations]
