How Test Results are Calculated and Displayed

Test results are calculated and displayed differently depending on the regulations specified in the system settings; see Changing Your System Settings.

Alberta Standards

The Hearing Classification tab displays Abnormal Audiogram and Abnormal Shift calculated based on occupational health and safety code regulations as follows:

• Abnormal Audiogram:

The threshold in either ear > 25 db at 500, 1000, 2000HZ
or
The threshold in either ear > 60db at 3000, 4000, 6000HZ
or
One-sided hearing loss with difference in hearing threshold level between better and poorer ear exceeding the average of 30 db at 3000, 4000, 6000HZ.

• Abnormal Shift:

The threshold shift in either ear of 15 db at two consecutive test frequencies from 1000 HZ up to 6000 HZ when compared to baseline. This calculation should not take age corrections into consideration.

Australia Standards

There are two Australia-specific fields for PLH (Percentage Loss of Hearing):

• Total PLH – total percentage from each test

• PLH Shift – total shift between the tests

UK Standards

The Hearing Classification tab displays hearing loss classifications by category performed using age/gender corrected values.

OSHA, MSHA, Quebec and South Africa Standards

If you’re OSHA compliant, then you are also MSHA compliant. There are two MSHA-specific flags: Left MRSFlag and Right MRSFlag. These will be selected if recordable hearing loss is greater than a 25 dB average shift from baseline at 2000, 3000, and 4000 Hz.

Cority compares all tests to the first (original) baseline and displays a comparison in Shift from Original Baseline. It also compares any tests to the most recent test that was identified as a revised baseline test, and displays the comparison in Shift from Last Baseline. If there are no revised baseline tests, the same value is displayed in both Shift from Original Baseline and Shift from Last Baseline.

For example:

1. First Test: Baseline is selected. When the first hearing test is completed this becomes the first test.

2. Second Test: The second test is compared to the original baseline. The same value will appear in both Shift from Original Baseline and Shift from Last Baseline because there have been no revised baseline tests to compare to.

3. Third Test: If this test is considered Baseline, the word “Revised” will appear in red beside the check box. Cority will compare this test to the original baseline test only, because there are no previous “revised” baseline tests to compare to. The same value will appear in both Shift from Original Baseline and Shift from Last Baseline.

Baselines are entered and revised separately for each ear, i.e. if you revise the baseline for the right ear, the baseline for the left ear is only revised if you also select the Baseline check box for the left ear, and vice versa.

4. Fourth Test: Cority compares the fourth test to the first “original” test and displays the difference in Shift from Original Baseline. The test is also compared to the last test that was marked “Revised” baseline (test 3) and displays the difference in Shift from Last Baseline.

The Binaural Impairment calculation (%BI) is done using the AMA-AAO-1979 Hearing Impairment formula.

About Shifts

Any shift in test results that exceeds Standard STS (change in hearing threshold relative to the baseline audiogram age-corrected average of 10 dB or more at 2000, 3000, and 4000 Hz in either ear.) or ORS is displayed. STS will be considered ORS if variance from audiometric zero reaches an average of 25 dB or more at 2000, 3000, and 4000 Hz, and an age-corrected average of 10 dB or more at 2000, 3000, and 4000 Hz in either ear.

Age corrected shifts will only display if Age Corrections have been enabled in the system settings (see Changing Your System Settings).

If an employee is in a Hearing Conservation Program when ORS/STS shift happens, it is automatically considered Work Related and retest is required within next 30 days regardless if shift was initially confirmed (if the employee is not in a Hearing Conservation Program when the ORS/STS shift happens but it is considered work related, you can select Work Related manually).

The next record within 30 days after STS /ORS (in either ear) will be marked as a Retest. A test cannot be marked as a Retest if there has not been an STS shift detected within the previous 30 days.

The ORS shift will be added to the OSHA log only if Save OSHA recordable shifts to the 300 log? is enabled in the system settings (see Changing Your System Settings).

If STS/ORS shift is not confirmed initially:

• If retest confirms STS, you will be prompted to confirm record and mark it as a revised baseline. If the retest is imported or transferred, the record will be confirmed and marked as a revised baseline. The Incident OSHA recordable record is added with Date of Injury = previous test (ORS) test date.

• If retest does not confirm STS/ORS, the previous baseline will be used for comparison purposes.

If STS/ORS shift is confirmed initially:

• <OSHA only; not Quebec:> You will be prompted to add the record to the OSHA log; if you select Yes, the Incident OSHA recordable record is added with Date of Injury = ORS test date.

• If the initial test is confirmed and a retest is done within 30 days, the system will ask to confirm the test again, mark it as a revised baseline, and unmark the previous test as a baseline (if previous test was marked as a revised baseline).

• If retest does not confirm STS/ORS, you are prompted to un-mark the previous test as a baseline; the earlier baseline will be used for comparison purposes. The Incident OSHA recordable record is added with Date of Injury = confirmed ORS Test date lined out on the OSHA log. If the retest is imported or transferred, the previous test will be un-marked as a baseline, The Incident OSHA recordable record is added with Date of Injury = confirmed ORS Test date lined out on the OSHA log.

If Turn off prompts to confirm tests, STS, revise baseline, etc. is enabled in the system settings (see Changing Your System Settings), all above functionality for audiometric test manual entry will work as described for records that were imported/transferred.

Linking from a Clinic Visit:

When a user links from Clinic Visit/Exam Activities to the Audiometric module, and the audiogram is OSHA recordable, the system marks the current case as OSHA recordable and doesn’t create a new case.

If re-test confirms the OSHA recordable shift, the existing logic is not changed:

• The previous ORS record is un-marked as a baseline, but remains in the OSHA log

• The last record is not added to the OSHA log and is not OSHA recordable.

If re-test does not confirm the OSHA shift, the previous ORS record is un-marked as a baseline and lined out from OSHA log.

If re-test after STS happens to be OSHA recordable shift, the last record is added to the OSHA log and is OSHA recordable.