ANSI Flashcards
Occupational Safety and Health (OSHA) regulations (1983)
Additionally, ANSI standards are voluntary and are not laws, although they may be referenced in state or federal law. However, the Occupational Safety and Health (OSHA) regulations (1983) require that audiometric equipment be regularly check.
Audiologists are mostly interested in standards developed by the Accredited Standards Committees (or “S” committees):
S1-Acoustics, S3-Bioacoustics, and S12-Noise
ANSI S3.6-2010
First, ANSI S3.6-2010 “Specification for Audiometers”, states the purpose of this standard is to ensure that tests of hearing, and particularly tests of hearing threshold, performed on the same individual with different audiometers complying with this standard shall give equivalent results when used under comparable test conditions.
ANSI S3.21-2004 (R2009)
Second, ANSI S3.21-2004 (R2009) is a standard which provides a procedure for pure-tone audiometry that will serve the needs of persons conducting threshold measurements in industry, schools, medical settings, and other areas where valid audiometric threshold measurements are needed.
ANSI S3.1-1999 (R2013)
Third, ANSI S3.1-1999 (R2013) provides the Maximum Permissible Ambient Noise Levels (MPANLs) for audiometric test rooms that produce negligible masking (<2 dB) of test signals presented at reference equivalent threshold levels specified in ANSI S3.6-1996. The MPANLs are specified from 125 to 8000 Hz in octave and one-third octave band intervals for two audiometric testing conditions (ears covered and ears not covered) and for three test frequency ranges (125 to 8000 Hz, 250 to 8000 Hz, and 500 to 8000 Hz).
ANSI S3.22-2014
The quality control of hearing aids is regulated by ANSI S3.22-2014 Specification of Hearing Aid Characteristics. The FDA first adopted an earlier version of this standard in 1976. Since then, manufacturers are required to adhere to these standards or risk a steep penalty. Even though hearing aid manufacturers must demonstrate they closely follow these quality control standards, professionals, who directly interface with consumers – whom these types of quality control guidelines are intended to protect – are not mandated to ensure these standards are met prior to dispensing hearing aids.
ANSI S3.35-2010 (R2015)
The purpose of ANSI S3.35-2010 (R2015) Method of Measurement of Performance Characteristics of Hearing Aids Under Simulated Real-Ear Working Conditions is to describe test methods which include the acoustical effects of a simulated median adult wearer on the performance of a hearing aid.
ANSI S3.42-1992 (R2017)
ANSI S3.42-1992 (R2017) Testing Hearing Aids with a Broad-Band Noise Signal defines a test method with which to characterize the steady-state frequency response and input/output characteristics of hearing aids as the input level varies; this method is particularly useful for those haring aids that have automatic gain control or other types of adaptive circuitry.
ANSI S3.46-2013
The new ANSI Standard for Methods of Measurement of Real-Ear Performance Characteristics of Hearing Aids (S3.46-2013) is the first in North America to standardize the real-ear-to-coupler-difference (RECD).
ANSI S3.39-1987 (R2012)
Audiologists should also routinely use ANSI S3.39-1987 (R2012) Specifications for Instruments to Measure Aural Acoustic Impedance and Admittance. This standard provides specifications for instruments designed to measure acoustic impedance and acoustic admittance within the human external ear canal and is concerned with the parameters and tolerances of instruments used for measurements of aural acoustic impedance and aural acoustic admittance when the probe-tone frequency is 226 Hz.
ANSI S3.45-2009 (R2014)
A standard on Procedures for Testing Basic Vestibular Function (ANSI S3.45-2009 (R2014)) is also available to audiologists and should be used when providing vestibular assessment services to patients. This standard outlines the specific procedures for six separate tests, which, together with the data analysis and reporting requirements specified in the standard, constitute the Basic Vestibular Function Test Battery.
ANSI S12.60-2010/Part 1 (R2015)
Last, committee S12 provides many standards related to occupational noise exposure that pertain to clinical audiologists. Educational audiologists in particular should make good use of ANSI S12.60-2010/Part 1 (R2015) Acoustical Performance Criteria, Design Requirements, and Guidelines for Schools. Part 1 of ANSI S12.60 is applicable to core learning spaces and classrooms with interior volumes not exceeding 20,000 ft3 and to ancillary learning spaces of any volume. This standard specifies the ambient room noise and reverberation time for classrooms in our schools and has grand implications for the success of children with and without hearing loss in academic achievement.
Currently, ANSI has no standard related to…
Currently, ANSI has no standard related to auditory evoked potential (AEP) or otoacoustic emission (OAE) testing. This is problematic in that the lack of standards can negatively impact on our ability to identify accurate hearing abilities. Without a national standard, manufacturers of AEP and OAE devices have no guidelines for the design and calibration of these instruments, which has led to variability in the commercially available screening instruments. OAE and AEP equipment are particularly useful tools in clinical audiology for universal newborn hearing screenings (UNHS) or in cases when behavioral pure-tone assessment is unavailable.
Durrant, Sabo, & Delgado (2007)
Research is needed to critically assess current calibration methods and to establish, to the extent possible, appropriate norms and validation studies in newborns to adults to provide a better understanding of the actual sound pressure level of the stimulus (Durrant, Sabo, & Delgado, 2007). Specifically, variability in acoustic stimuli and sound pressure levels at the tympanic membrane can result in different pass-fail criteria among devices. Without this important work, milder degrees of hearing loss may go unidentified. Additionally, among DPOAE screeners there are differences in the tonal pairs used and among automated ABR screeners there are differences in stimulus level; these issues not only affect calibration, but create obstacles to the implementation of uniform pass-fail criteria. They also make it difficult to compare data across programs and settings.
