ANSI/ASA S3.44 Part 1, “American National Standard Acoustics – Estimation of Noise-induced Hearing Loss-Part 1: Method for Calculating Expected Noise-induced Permanent Threshold Shift,” has just been released. It replaces the previous ANSI/ASA S3.44 from 1996 and is the U.S. modified adoption of the ISO 1999 from 2013. The standard provides a method to calculate the expected noise-induced loss of hearing in adults depending on the noise level and amount of time a person is exposed to noise.
The Secretariat (“Caretaker” or “Standard developer”) for this publication is the Acoustical Society of America (ASA). As the U.S. TAG (Technical Advisory Group) to ISO for this subject, ASA has the right to adopt and republish any ISO standard that it helps to author. In this case, ASA found a number of areas where they needed to deviate from the ISO 1999 original. So here is a list of some the items that are different in the U.S. edition:
- The ANSI/ASA S3.44 Part 1 reflects the expectation that ASA will be developing and publishing a Part 2, which is not evident in the ISO 1999 since there are no plans for a Part 2 at ISO. The U.S. Part 2 will include age as a factor.
- Errors were found in the ISO Tables A.3 and B.2 and in an equation (C.10). They are noted in the ANSI/ASA edition and should be fixed in the next edition of the ISO 1999.
- Of course, in this U.S. Edition, “American National Standard” replaces “International Standard” in the text, decimal points replace the European convention of using a comma, and American English spellings replace the ISO original British English ones.
- The convention of using data based on a broadband steady non-tonal noise in the ISO 1999 may be replaced with tonal noise for ANSI/ASA users. This is to accomodate the OSHA regulation requiring a 5-dB exchange rate.
Other changes occur throughout the document. All are high-lighted by the use of bold blue text within a blue box.
If you use the 1996 ANSI/ASA S3.44, you’ll need a copy of the new ANSI/ASA S3.44 Part 1 from 2016 to replace the older (now-obsolete) edition. Choose an authorized ASA distributor like Document Center Inc. for your purchase. You can search for and order standards in both paper format and for pdf download at our webstore, www.document-center.com. For your convenience, here is a direct link to the order page for ANSI/ASA S3.44 Part 1.
And of course, all ASA standards are also available as part of our enterprise-wide subscription solution, Standards Online. If you’d like more information about this Document Center service, just contact our staff by phone (650-591-7600) or email (info@document-center.com). You’ll get immediate assistance to solve your most trying compliance documentation issues. Make us your Standards Experts!