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DOEHRS-HC: Conserving One Of Your Most Valuable Senses
July 29, 2011
According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, every year nearly 30 million people in the United States are exposed to hazardous noise in the workplace. “Fortunately, the incidence of noise-induced hearing loss can be reduced or eliminated through successful application of engineering controls and hearing conservation programs,” OSHA reports.
To support personal hearing readiness and help prevent hearing loss through early detection for all Active-Duty, Reserve, Guard and civilian staff, the Military Health System uses the Defense Occupational and Environmental Health Readiness System–Hearing Conservation. DOEHRS-HC collects, maintains, compares and reports hearing readiness, deployment and hearing conservation program data for Department of Defense personnel. It incorporates Tri-Service business practices and its features include conducting automated baseline, annual, pre- and post-deployment hearing tests; performing objective hearing test calculations; and interpreting hearing test results for individual readiness and management.
All military personnel are required to have a hearing test when they join the military, annually, pre- and post-deployment, and when they leave the service. Because a hearing test is only one element of a comprehensive program, the data reported in DOEHRS-HC is vital to helping conserve the hearing of Service members.
DOEHRS-HC assists in the prevention of hearing loss by detecting early decreases in hearing, monitoring hearing readiness and follow-up tests, documenting individual hearing ability, and assisting with local and Service-wide hearing readiness and hearing conservation program management. The comprehensive database of over 21 million hearing records within DOEHRS-HC is used for historical and trend analysis.
Single ear testing will soon be added to DOEHRS-HC, which meets an OSHA regulation requiring the ability to track changes in hearing for each ear independently. This new capability distinguishes changes in hearing and hearing test dates for each ear individually when re-establishing baseline hearing tests. This new functionality will help better detect changes in hearing and identify actions to be taken to prevent further changes.
For additional information about DOEHRS-HC and the Defense Health Services Systems Program Executive Office, visit http://health.mil/dhss.
By Army Col. Christopher Harrington, Defense Health Services Systems
Army Col. Christopher Harrington
Defense Health Services Systems