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Audiometer Calibration & Maintenance | ANSI S3.6 Compliance & Audiometry Service

Educational

ANSI/ASA S3.6-2025 Is Here — and 'No New Technical Changes' Is Exactly the Headline You Want

ANSI/ASA S3.6 is the American National Standard that specifies the performance and calibration requirements for audiometers — everything from output level accuracy and frequency tolerances to the reference equivalent threshold sound pressure levels (RETSPLs) that define 0 dB HL for each transducer. When a revision reaffirms the existing specifications without new technical changes, the practical upshot is continuity: your reference values, calibration tolerances, and test procedures remain valid, and equipment already conforming to the prior edition does not suddenly fall out of spec.

That stability is genuinely useful for occupational hearing-conservation programs. Because OSHA's noise standard references calibration to ANSI S3.6, a settled standard means audiograms recorded now remain directly comparable to baselines taken years ago — which is the whole point of longitudinal monitoring for standard threshold shifts. Comparability breaks down when reference levels move, so a "no new technical changes" edition protects the integrity of historical data.

The right response to a stable standard is not complacency but discipline. It is an ideal moment to verify that your calibration certificates cite the correct standard edition, that transducers are matched to the audiometer they were calibrated with, and that daily functional checks and annual exhaustive calibrations are documented cleanly. Auditors and hearing-conservation reviewers look at the paper trail as closely as the instrument.

Sources: Acoustical Society of America (ANSI/ASA); OSHA 29 CFR 1910.95

July 9, 20268 min read

Informative

OSHA 1910.95 Calibration Cadence: Daily Functional Check, Annual Exhaustive, Biennial Electroacoustic

OSHA's hearing-conservation requirements (29 CFR 1910.95 and its Appendix E on acoustic calibration) establish a layered calibration cadence rather than a single annual event. The most frequent layer is the functional or biological check performed before each day audiometric testing is conducted: a known listener is tested, and the result is compared against a baseline. If the readings differ by more than a defined tolerance, the audiometer is suspect and must be checked further before testing continues.

The middle layer is periodic acoustic calibration, and the outer layer is a thorough exhaustive calibration performed to the ANSI/ASA S3.6 specifications at least every two years. The two-year electroacoustic calibration verifies output levels, linearity, frequency accuracy, and unwanted noise against the standard using calibrated acoustic instrumentation — work that generally requires a specialized lab or qualified technician, not a floor operator.

Building these three rhythms into a written schedule, with a named responsible person and retained records for each check, is what turns compliance from a scramble into a routine. Because a failed daily check halts testing, having a documented response procedure — and a spare, calibrated transducer or backup unit — keeps a minor deviation from costing you a full day of scheduled audiograms.

Sources: OSHA 29 CFR 1910.95; Acoustical Society of America (ANSI/ASA)

July 16, 20267 min read

Field Notes

Field Note: A 15 dB Shift on the Morning Biologic Check

The daily biological (functional) check exists precisely to catch this kind of drift before it contaminates real audiograms. When the known listener showed a 15 dB deviation at 4 kHz in one ear — well beyond the acceptable tolerance — the correct call was to stop testing, not to explain it away. A discrepancy that large is far more likely to be an equipment fault than a genuine overnight change in a trained listener's hearing, and treating it as a hardware problem first is the disciplined response.

The failure isolating to a single ear and a single high frequency pointed away from the audiometer's electronics and toward the transducer path. Supra-aural earphones such as the TDH-39 depend on a consistent, even seal against the ear; a cracked or hardened cushion that seats unevenly changes the acoustic coupling and can produce exactly this kind of frequency-specific level error. Cushion condition, cable integrity, and correct transducer-to-audiometer pairing are among the most common causes of daily-check failures in the field.

Reseating and replacing the cushion, then re-running the biological check to confirm the reading was back within tolerance, restored testing without rescheduling the crew. Just as important, the incident and its resolution were documented — what failed, what was done, and the passing re-check — so the day's audiograms rest on a defensible record. That paper trail is what protects both the workers' data and the program during any later review.

Sources: OSHA 29 CFR 1910.95; Acoustical Society of America (ANSI/ASA)

July 23, 20265 min read