Periodic monitoring under a hearing conservation program typically includes which of the following?

• A. Periodic audiometric testing
• B. Only initial baseline test
• C. Blood tests
• D. Temperature checks

Answer: (A)

Periodic monitoring in a hearing conservation program means regularly checking employees’ hearing over time to see if there are any declines. This is done through periodic audiometric testing, which measures hearing thresholds at key frequencies and compares current results to the established baseline. The baseline is only done once to set the reference, while periodic testing repeats over intervals (often annually) to detect any threshold shifts that would indicate potential noise-related damage and trigger protective actions. Blood tests and temperature checks don’t assess hearing function, so they aren’t part of periodic monitoring.