Amos N E, Simpson T H
Division of Audiology, Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, Michigan 48202, USA.
J Am Acad Audiol. 1995 Nov;6(6):407-13.
Draft American National Standard "Evaluating the Effectiveness of Hearing Conservation Programs" identifies potentially important links between audiometric threshold variability outcomes and occupational hearing conservation program (HCP) practices. Unacceptable threshold variability in annual audiograms may identify poor testing practices and temporary threshold shifts. This preliminary investigation reveals pre-existing hearing loss to be a potentially important confounding viable to interpreting ANSI S12.13 outcomes. Poor hearing groups in this study consistently yielded greater threshold variability (i.e., "poorer" HCP performance) than better hearing groups. Gender may also be a confounding variable, however, to a far lesser degree. HCP managers should exercise caution when interpreting relative ANSI S12.13 outcomes among HCPs differing in baseline hearing sensitivity. Potential causes for these findings are discussed, and implications for future research are identified.
美国国家标准草案《评估听力保护计划的有效性》确定了听力阈值变异性结果与职业听力保护计划（HCP）实践之间潜在的重要联系。年度听力图中不可接受的阈值变异性可能表明测试方法不当和暂时性阈值偏移。这项初步调查显示，已有听力损失可能是解释ANSI S12.13结果的一个潜在重要混杂变量。在本研究中，听力较差的组始终比听力较好的组产生更大的阈值变异性（即“HCP表现较差”）。性别也可能是一个混杂变量，但其程度要小得多。在解释基线听力敏感度不同的HCP之间的相对ANSI S12.13结果时，HCP管理人员应谨慎行事。讨论了这些发现的潜在原因，并确定了对未来研究的启示。
