Washington — The Department of Labor Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs wants to learn more about advances in hearing tests as it considers updating the quality standards in its regulations.
In a notice published June 23, OWCP says any updates to the standards would “better reflect current medical technology and practice, particularly the potential use of objective testing methods.”
Under the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act, which is administered by OWCP, an audiogram is considered the “presumptive evidence of hearing loss.”
The notice states that “objective testing methods such as auditory brainstem response (ABR), auditory steady state response (ASSR), otoacoustic emissions (OAE) and other screenings have become more widely available and are used in clinical settings.”
It adds that these tests measure physiological responses to sound stimuli and don’t rely on subjective patient responses, unlike traditional pure-tone audiometry (audiograms).
OWCP says that stakeholders have expressed interest in an update to the regulations and that “hearing loss claims constitute a significant portion of LHWCA claims.” In September, Reps. Tim Walberg (R-MI) and Ryan Mackenzie (R-PA) asked Government Accountability Office Comptroller General Gene Dodaro for a review of hearing loss claims in the port, marine terminal and shipbuilding industries. Walberg and Mackenzie said many employers contend “that “a significant portion of the hearing loss claims for which they must provide compensation are not the result of waterfront employment but instead from other noise-induced exposure or circumstances occurring outside workplace conditions.”
OWCP’s notice poses 28 specific questions for public input.
