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For information related to construction, see OSHA's Noise and Hearing Conservation - Construction page.

Section 5(a)(1) of the OSH Act, often referred to as the General Duty Clause, requires employers to "furnish to each of his employees employment and a place of employment which are free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to his employees". Section 5(a)(2) requires employers to "comply with occupational safety and health standards promulgated under this Act".

Note: Twenty-four states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands have OSHA-approved State Plans and have adopted their own standards and enforcement policies. For the most part, these States adopt standards that are identical to Federal OSHA. However, some States have adopted different standards applicable to this topic or may have different enforcement policies.

• Section 5(a)(1) of the OSH Act, often referred to as the General Duty Clause, requires employers to "furnish to each of his employees employment and a place of employment which are free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to his employees". This section may be used to cite hazards for which there are no specific standards, such as ergonomics. [related topic page]
  

• 1904, Recording and reporting occupational injuries and illness [related topic page]
  • 1904.10, Recording criteria for cases involving occupational hearing loss

General Industry (29 CFR 1910)

• 1910 Subpart G, Occupational health and environment control
  • 1910.95, Occupational noise exposure
    • Appendix A, Noise exposure computation
    • Appendix B, Methods for estimating the adequacy of hearing protector attenuation
    • Appendix C, Audiometric measuring instruments
    • Appendix D, Audiometric test rooms
    • Appendix E, Acoustic calibration of audiometers
    • Appendix F, Calculations and application of age corrections to audiograms
    • Appendix G, Monitoring noise levels non-mandatory informational appendix
    • Appendix H, Availability of referenced documents
    • Appendix I, Definitions

• Occupational Injury and Illness Recording and Reporting Requirements. Final Rules 67:44037-44048, (2002, July 1). Revises the criteria for recording hearing loss cases in several ways, including requiring the recording of Standard Threshold Shifts (10 dB shifts in hearing acuity) that have resulted in a total 25 dB level of hearing above audiometric zero, averaged over the frequencies at 2000, 3000, and 4000 Hz, beginning in the year 2003.
  • OSHA to Issue Final Rule on Recording Hearing Loss. Trade News Release, (2002, June 6).
• Search all available Federal Registers.

• OSHA Technical Manual (OTM). TED 01-00-015 [TED 1-0.15A], (1999, January 20).
  • Technical Equipment. Contains information on noise monitors and meters, including descriptions and techniques for the use of sound level meters and dosimeters.
  • Noise and Hearing Conservation. OSHA eTool. Assists OSHA staff in evaluating workplace hazards.
• OSHA Field Inspection Reference Manual. CPL 02-00-103 [CPL 2.103], (1994, September 26).
  • Inspection Documentation. Paragraph C.3.b. includes citation policies for violations of 29 CFR 1910.95.
• Guidelines for Noise Enforcement; Appendix A. CPL 02-02-035 [CPL 2-2.35A], (1983, December 19). Lists several factors to consider and document in the case file with regard to comparing the relative degree of attenuation of personal protectors and engineering and/or administrative controls.
• Occupational Noise Exposure; Hearing Conservation Amendment, 29 CFR 1910.95. CSP 01-01-016 [STP 2.21], (1981, December 12). Describes the requirements of each regional administrator under a federal program change that affects state programs.
• Search all available directives.

• Hearing Conservation. Publication 3074, (2002), 160 KB PDF, 32 pages. Summarizes the required component of OSHA's hearing conservation program for general industry. Covers monitoring, audiometric testing, hearing protectors, training, and recordkeeping requirements.

Note: These are NOT OSHA regulations. However, they do provide guidance from their originating organizations related to worker protection.

• 40 CFR 211, Product Noise Labeling

• 49 CFR 227, Occupational Noise Exposure for Railroad Operating Employees. Requires railroads to conduct noise monitoring and implement a hearing conservation program for employees whose exposure to cab noise equals or exceeds an 8-hour TWA of 85 dBA. This final rule became effective February 26, 2007.
   
  • 227.101,  Scope and applicability
  • 227.103,  Noise monitoring program
  • 227.105,  Protection of employees
  • 227.107,  Hearing conservation program
  • 227.109, Audiometric testing program
  • 227.111,  Audiometric test requirements
  • 227.113,  Noise operational controls
  • 227.115, Hearing protectors
  • 227.117,  Hearing protector attenuation
  • 227.119,  Training program
  • 227.121, Recordkeeping
    • Appendix A to Part 227, Noise Exposure Computation
    • Appendix B to Part 227, Methods for Estimating the Adequacy of Hearing Protector Attenuation
    • Appendix C to Part 227, Audiometric Baseline Revision
    • Appendix D to Part 227, Audiometric Test Rooms
    • Appendix E to Part 227, Use of Insert Earphones for Audiometric Testing
    • Appendix F to Part 227, Calculations and Application of Age Corrections to Audiograms
    • Appendix G to Part 227, Schedule of Civil Penalties
• 49 CFR 229, Railroad Locomotive Safety Standards
  • 229.121, Locomotive Cab Noise. Also available as a 37 KB PDF, 1 page.
     
• 49 CFR Parts 227 and 229. 493 KB PDF, 74 pages. Occupational Noise Rule.

• Health Standards for Occupational Noise Exposure. (2000, September 13). A single source page for all documents and resources related to MSHA's 2000 Health Standards for Occupational Noise Exposure rule.

• Criteria for a Recommended Standard: Occupational Noise Exposure. Publication No. 98-126, (1998, June). Also available as a 4 MB PDF, 122 pages. Includes revisions to previous 1972 recommendations that go beyond attempting to conserve hearing by focusing on preventing occupational noise-induced hearing loss.

• Recommendations on Control of Excessive Noise. Navigation and Vessel Inspection Circular No. 12-82, (1982, June 2). Also available as a 96 KB PDF, 26 pages.

• DoD Hearing Conservation Program. Instruction No. 6055.12, (2004, March 5), 927 KB PDF, 40 pages. Includes exposure limits and requirements for monitoring, control methods, hearing conservation programs, and more as part of the hearing conservation program.

• 49 CFR 393.94, Interior noise levels in power units

Note: These are NOT OSHA regulations. However, they do provide guidance from their originating organizations related to worker protection.

• A10.46-2007, Hearing Loss Prevention in Construction and Demolition Workers. Applies to all construction and demolition workers with potential noise exposures (continuous, intermittent and impulse) of 85 dBA and above.
• S3.1-1999 (R2003), American National Standard Maximum Permissible Ambient Noise Levels for Audiometric Test Rooms. Specifies maximum permissible ambient noise levels (MPANLs) allowed in an audiometric test room that produce negligible masking (less than or equal to 2 dB) of test signals presented at reference equivalent threshold levels specified in American National Standard S3.6-1996 American National Standard Specification of Audiometers. This standard is a revision of ANSI S3.1-1991 American National Standard Maximum Permissible Ambient Noise Levels for Audiometric Test Rooms.
• S3.41-1990 (R2001), American National Standard Audible Emergency Evacuation Signal. Indicates the development of an international audible signal which, when heard, would unequivocally mean "evacuate the building immediately."  ISO-8201, Audible Emergency Evacuation Signal, was approved by International Standards Organization and published in December, 1987. This ANSI standard is written to conform with the international standard.
• S3.44-1996 (R2001), American National Standard Determination of Occupational Noise Exposure and Estimation of Noise-Induced Hearing Impairment.
• S3.6-2004, American National Standard Specification for Audiometers. Covers devices designed for use in determining the hearing threshold of an individual in comparison with a chosen standard reference threshold level. This standard provides specifications and tolerances for pure tone, speech, and masking signals and describes the minimum test capabilities of different types of audiometers.
• S12.6-1997 (R2002), American National Standard Methods for Measuring the Real-Ear Attenuation of Hearing Protectors. Specifies laboratory-based procedures for measuring, analyzing, and reporting the noise-reducing capabilities of conventional passive hearing protection devices (HPDs). Two fitting procedures are provided: Method A) experimenter- supervised fit, designed to describe the capabilities of the devices under ideal conditions, and Method B) subject fit intended to approximate the protection that can be attained by groups of informed users in workplaces with representative well-managed and well-supervised occupational hearing conservation programs.