Audiology Service Associates has offered quality Industrial Hearing Care services for the past several years including CAOHC certification. In order to ensure that our patients continue to receive the same high quality of hearing services, we have separated our Industrial Hearing Care and CAOHC Training services into a separate entity know as The Hearing Advantage. To contact The Hearing Advantage for more information on CAOHC training dates and times, call 716-874-3375.

What is CAOHC's

CAOHC stands for Council for Accreditation in Occupational Hearing Conservations. Its roots began with the Intersociety Committee on guidelines for noise exposure control in the mid 1960s. At that time, the organizational members consisted of ACGIH, AAOO, AAOM, AIHA, and AIMA. This committee developed guidelines for the evaluation of the hazards of noise, exposure control methods, planning hazard-free operations, and audiometry in a 1970 report. When the noise standard was being promulgated in the early 1970s, NIOSH contacted Intersociety for input.The Intersociety has been active ever since, changing its name and makeup to the current CAOHC in 1973.

CAOHC was created to fill the need for guidelines and standards in the occupational hearing conservation field. The Council's mix of disciplines was felt to be the best manner in which to assure that reasonable and effective guidelines would be developed and used.

The Mission of CAOHC is to promote the conservation of hearing by enhancing the quality of occupational hearing conservation programs.

What are CAOHC's objectives and accomplishments?

CAOHC's main objective is to provide education, information, and guidance to industry and those serving industry regarding the successful implementation of an occupational hearing conservation program. It seeks to prevent unnecessary hearing loss.

CAOHC achievements include:

• Developing standardized training guidelines for course directors and occupational hearing conservationists.
• Developing a comprehensive manual for use by course directors and occupational hearing conservationists.
• Become actively involved in pending legislation relative to hearing conservation.
• Publishes the Update newsletter.
• Benn mentioned specifically in OSHA 1910.95.
• CAOHC certification in now required in the states of Washington and Oregon.
• Implemented a five-year certification period.
• Provides nationwide CAOHC course listings.
• Currently has over 20,000 certified OHCs and approximately 400 certified CDs.