The course runs over 1 day from 8.15am to 5.00pm. Students are required to attend all sessions.

The Occupational Audiometry Refresher aims to provide refresher training for experienced testers in the many facets of conducting legislation-compliant occupational hearing assessments. The course will reconnect testers with the content in the various key reference documents in occupational audiometry, including:

• Work Health & Safety Act & regulations (and state-based equivalents)
• Managing Noise and Preventing Hearing Loss at Work Code of Practice
• Australian Standard/New Zealand Standard AS/NZS1269.4
• NAL Report 80 Criteria for assessing hearing conservation audiograms

Over time, as testers develop confidence and experience in testing, questions can come up:

• Are my skills, advice and reporting consistent with legislation and best practice?
• How do I manage challenging testing situations?
• What’s the latest with equipment, software and legislation?
• Where can I go to “talk shop” with other audiometric testers….?

The Occupational Audiometry Refresher workshop will address these points and many more. Our Course Presenter will provide input and guidance however the floor is also open to the group to ask questions, discuss and share experiences.

This workshop is aimed at existing audiometric testers within the medical and occupational health sectors seeking refresher training in conducting occupational audiometry.

The content allows testers to enhance existing capabilities, learn about what’s new and find out how other testers manage their caseload and audiometry program.

This workshop builds on existing skills and knowledge in occupational audiometry. Registration is only open to existing audiometric testers who have previously attended our 2-day Intermediate Audiometry Workshop or 4-day Occupational Audiometry Course.

Students will be asked to bring to the course copies of two key reference documents:

• Australian Standard/New Zealand Standard 1269 Part 4 Auditory assessment.
• Managing Noise and Preventing Hearing Loss at Work Code of Practice (from your state government workplace safety body).

Links to Australian state/territory health and safety regulatory bodies can be found here.

Workshop attendees will receive an Attendance Certificate from The Hearing Company, Australia’s leading occupational audiometry course provider.

There is no formal exam!

Here are some comments from previous students who attended our 4-day Occupational Audiometry Course:

“It turns out that audiometry is not just circles and crosses on a graph! I now have much more understanding of audiometry, how the process works, rules and regulations and how to obtain accurate results. I now feel much more comfortable about explaining test results to our workers. As much as I don’t like homework and tests, I found the short daily quiz was valuable in showing me how much I had learned and gave me more confidence. Glenn taught at a good pace, was approachable and gave us plenty of hands on practice with individual directions on how to improve. Glenn explained things in simple terms, in different ways to suit the range of learning styles and paces in our group. The course was well paced with lots of variety in teaching methods to help us learn all the new skills.”
Rachel, Occupational Health Nurse, via Coober Pedy, SA (August 2023)

“Glenn, the course was great! You delivered all the key information I need for my job. I took away a lot of skills and knowledge and I’m now excited about implementing all I’ve learned at my workplace.”
Georgina, Exercise Physiologist, Adelaide, SA (August 2023)

“I found the Occupational Audiometry Course to be very engaging and enjoyable. Despite the long days, the course didn’t drag on. I was engaged the whole time. I enjoyed the interactions with Glenn and the other students. I learned a lot and now feel much more confident in performing an accurate hearing assessment. Excellent work, Glenn and the team. Keep up the good work – thanks Glenn and the team!”
Terri, Practice Administrator/Audiometrist, Launceston, Tas (August 2023)

“The course was fun! Who would have thought?! Glenn is an amazing teacher, very friendly and easy to approach and made learning enjoyable. I particularly enjoyed receiving one-on-one feedback during practice sessions and now feel confident to go ahead and implement all I’ve learned back at my workplace. Initially I was worried that the volume of content and pace of the course was going to be too fast for me. Now, at the end of the course, I realise that I need not have been concerned. I gave it a go, and it all worked out!”
Ronel, Admin, Virginia, SA (August 2023)

“Honestly, I was skeptical that a course in audiometry could be interesting. How wrong I was. We covered a lot of material in 4 days, but it never felt mundane or boring. Glenn made the content come alive with lots of real world examples and a great sense of humour. There was plenty of hands on practice with the audiometer and otoscope. Glenn is an excellent teacher. He was patient and very skilled at providing direction and correction. The course was engaging, fun and exceeded my expectations!”
Crystal, Nurse Practitioner and business owner, Melbourne,Vic (October 2022)

“This was a great course! Who knew audiometry could be so interesting and involved! I feel I’ve gained a really valuable clinical skill. The course included quality presentations and materials and I felt very supported in learning. I very much enjoyed the combination of theory and practice each day with plenty of time to learn new information and skills. Glenn (course presenter) provided positive feedback and encouragement throughout and he was always approachable. I would absolutely, highly recommend this course!”
Heidi, Practice Nurse Manager, Alice Springs, SA (October 2022)

“The Occupational Audiometry Course was fantastic. Great mix of practical and theory with excellent coaching from lecturers. I now feel confident with all aspects of audiometric testing and reassured by my greater understanding of the Australian Standard and Code of Practice. Overall an excellent course! Very enjoyable and informative. I would definitely recommend the course. Well done!”
Susan, Occ Health Nurse, Adelaide, SA (September 2019)

“This course should be part of the teaching program for all occupational health providers. The course provided a good depth of knowledge, has a strong practical focus and was very relevant to the occupational health service in our medical practice. It was very well run and overall a great course.”
Dr Kevin, GP/practice owner, Gold Coast, Qld (October 2022)

“I had minimal experience in hearing testing and found this course was ideal for building my knowledge and understanding. The balance of theory and practical was just right and delivered in a way that was non-intimidating. The course was very well developed and delivered, with a good mix of theory and practice. Exams can be intimidating, but not this one. We were well prepared in all the key areas.”
Ann, Health Screener, Mt Gambier, SA (November 2021)

Read more testimonials here.

What do the student feedback forms say? Course evaluations from hundreds of students reveal:

• 98% were “confident in their ability to complete accurate hearing assessments”
• 90% said the course duration was “just right for the amount of material covered”
• 90% agreed that there was “a good mix of theory and practical teaching”
• 95% said the presenters and Skills Coaches were “knowledgeable, friendly and approachable”
• 99% would “recommend the course to others”

Please contact Lynne Miles, Course Manager, with any question or to discuss the suitability of this course for your requirements: 1300 118 222 or admin@hearingcompany.com.au.

A range of teaching methods are utilised during the course to assist students to learn the key skills, including hands on practice, written exercises, role plays, industry anecdotes, visual and auditory presentations, quizzes, demonstrations and “at-elbow” supervision. Previous students might recall that our courses engage, challenge and even entertain!

We supply all practice equipment and a Course Manual and Workbook.

Lunch, morning tea and afternoon tea will be provided.

Course material is drawn from several key Australian occupational audiometry reference documents including:

• Work Health & Safety Act & Regulations (and state-based equivalents)
• Managing Noise and Preventing Hearing Loss at Work Code of Practice
• Australian Standard/New Zealand Standard AS/NZS1269.4
• NAL Report 80 Criteria for assessing hearing conservation audiograms

Refresher training topics include:

• Conducting hearing tests using the best-practice Australian Standard technique
• Managing the effects of background noise on test accuracy
• Conducting otoscopy safely and effectively
• Review of interesting
• Analysing audiograms and applying referral criteria
• Accurately describing audiograms and presenting test results to workers
• Reference/baseline vs monitoring vs “screening” tests: discussion of requirements, differences and issues
• Case history questions relevant to purpose of test
• Key audiogram comparison methods (Australian Standard and other)
• Update on audiometry legislation and requirements in each state/territory
• Requirements for NSW Coal Mining Order 43 health assessments
• Occupational Hearing Loss: hazards to hearing beyond noise exposure
• Audiometry report guidelines (for workers/managers/customers)
• Managing challenging testing situations
• Detecting and managing equipment faults
• Equipment and software update
• Directions for managing a test when a worker has hearing aids
• Plus anything else comes up in your group…!

On it’s own, no, this workshop does not achieve compliance with the detailed list of 16 “competency requirements” for audiometric testers described in Appendix D of AS/NZS 1269.4; the primary reference document for conducting occupational audiometry in Australia.

The workshop refreshes the skills and knowledge of graduate testers who have previously achieved full (or partial) compliance after attended The Hearing Company’s 2-day Intermediate Audiometry Workshop or 4-day Occupational Audiometry Course.

The following fees are payable should a participant withdraw from the course:

• Following registration: 10% of full course fee
• Within 3 weeks of the starting date: 50% of full course fee
• Within 1 week of the starting date: 100% of full course fee

Yes, we accept transfers to another person but only within the same course. Deferring a registration to another course (different dates) is regarded as a cancellation.

No, this is not required although students are welcome to bring equipment if they would like advice on how to use a particular audiometer.

We supply all required practice equipment, including audiometers, otoscopes and consumables.

Yes, the Occupational Audiometry Refresher workshop provides up to 8 hours of contact/tuition, which can be claimed for continuing education.

We conduct public courses in the location of most demand; usually Sydney, Brisbane or Adelaide.

We also regularly conduct in-company courses for organisations with multiple employees to be trained. This can work out as a cost-effective and efficient way to upskill a team. Our equipment and teaching personnel are completely portable.

We offer a range of courses focussed on conducting occupational audiometry. These include a half-day workshop on fitting insert earphones (which offer superior external noise reduction) through to 1 and 2-day courses which teach basic or fundamental audiometry skills. See our range our course here.