STS may be revealed by which routine test?

STS may be revealed by which routine test?

• A. An annual audiogram of the employee
• B. A daily hearing check
• C. A pre-employment screening only
• D. A genetic test

Answer: (A)

STS, or Standard Threshold Shift, is a real change in a worker’s hearing sensitivity compared with their baseline audiometric exam. To identify STS, you need to compare current hearing test results to the baseline results established earlier, using standardized audiometry over time. The routine test that best reveals this change is the annual audiogram conducted as part of the Hearing Conservation Program. If the current thresholds are, on average, about 10 dB worse at key frequencies in either ear, that’s recorded as an STS and prompts appropriate follow-up actions. A daily hearing check isn’t precise enough to determine a threshold shift; it’s a quick screening, not a formal measure of hearing thresholds. A pre-employment screening sets the baseline but doesn’t monitor changes over time. A genetic test doesn’t assess hearing thresholds or detect STS.

STS, or Standard Threshold Shift, is a real change in a worker’s hearing sensitivity compared with their baseline audiometric exam. To identify STS, you need to compare current hearing test results to the baseline results established earlier, using standardized audiometry over time. The routine test that best reveals this change is the annual audiogram conducted as part of the Hearing Conservation Program. If the current thresholds are, on average, about 10 dB worse at key frequencies in either ear, that’s recorded as an STS and prompts appropriate follow-up actions.

A daily hearing check isn’t precise enough to determine a threshold shift; it’s a quick screening, not a formal measure of hearing thresholds. A pre-employment screening sets the baseline but doesn’t monitor changes over time. A genetic test doesn’t assess hearing thresholds or detect STS.