(a) Claims for hearing loss pending on or filed after September 28,
1984 (the date of enactment of Pub. L. 98-426) shall be adjudicated with
respect to the determination of the degree of hearing impairment in
accordance with these regulations.
(b) An audiogram shall be presumptive evidence of the amount of
hearing loss on the date administered if the following requirements are
met:
(1) The audiogram was administered by a licensed or certified
audiologist, by a physician certified by the American Board of
Otolaryngology, or by a technician, under an audiologist's or
physician's supervision, certified by the Council of Accreditation on
Occupational Hearing Conservation, or by any other person considered
qualified by a hearing conservation program authorized pursuant to 29
CFR 1910.95(g)(3) promulgated under the Occupational Safety and Health
Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 667). Thus, either a professional or trained
technician may conduct audiometric testing. However, to be acceptable
under this subsection, a licensed or certified audiologist or
otolaryngologist, as defined, must ultimately interpret and certify the
results of the audiogram. The accompanying report must set forth the
testing standards used and describe the method of evaluating the hearing
loss as well as providing an evaluation of the reliability of the test
results.
(2) The employee was provided the audiogram and a report thereon at
the time it was administered or within thirty (30) days thereafter.
(3) No one produces a contrary audiogram of equal probative value
(meaning one performed using the standards described herein) made at the
same time. ``Same time'' means within thirty (30) days thereof where
noise exposure continues or within six (6) months where exposure to
excessive noise levels does not continue. Audiometric tests performed
prior to the enactment of Public Law 98-426 will be considered
presumptively valid if the employer complied with the procedures in this
section for administering audiograms.
(c) In determining the amount of pre-employment hearing loss, an
audiogram must be submitted which was performed prior to employment or
within thirty (30) days of the date of the first employment-related
noise exposure. Audiograms performed after December 27, 1984 must comply
with the standards described in paragraph (d) of this section.
(d) In determining the loss of hearing under the Act, the evaluators
shall use the criteria for measuring and calculating hearing impairment
as published and modified from time-to-time by the American Medical
Association
in the Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment, using the most
currently revised edition of this publication. In addition, the
audiometer used for testing the individual's threshold of hearing must
be calibrated according to current American National Standard
Specifications for Audiometers. Audiometer testing procedures required
by hearing conservation programs pursuant to the Occupational Safety and
Health Act of 1970 should be followed (as described at 29 CFR 1910.95
and appendices).
(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number
1215-0160)
[50 FR 405, Jan. 3, 1985]
