The course runs over 4 days 8.15am to 5.00pm (although usually there’s an earlier finish on day 4). Students are required to attend all sessions.

The Audiometric Surveillance Course provides comprehensive training in the skills and knowledge required to conduct legislation-compliant occupational hearing assessments in Western Australia.

Course material is drawn from several key reference documents including:

• Work Health & Safety (WHS) regulation 58 and 118 in Western Australia
  
• 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

While conducting a hearing test can be perceived as simply “pressing buttons” there is far more involved in completing the task accurately and according to best practice. In addition to achieving compliance with WA legislation, this course develops “thinking” testers who have the confidence and ability to obtain accurate results and manage routine and challenging testing situations.

The Audiometric Surveillance Course is taught to small-medium sized groups. This allows our teachers to provide one-on-one, hands-on practical tuition and individually tailor each student’s development of key audiometry skills.

This course is aimed at practitioners within the medical and occupational health sectors seeking audiometry training that’s fully compliant with WA’s audiometry legislation, Australian Standards and industry best practice.

Students who successfully complete this course will achieve status as a “competent person” to conduct regulation 58 hearing tests, as defined by the WA government department administering the new legislation (Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety – DEMIRS).

Skills can be used for:

• Legislation-compliant, in-company audiometric health surveillance programs
• Identifying and managing changes in employees’ hearing
• Contributing to the management of hearing loss within a company (referrals, ongoing management, etc)
• Enhancing the skills and knowledge of existing medical or occupational health service providers
• Practitioners and health practices expanding their range of services to clients in high noise industries

There are no formal prerequisites for attending this course. We have many students attending the course without prior background in audiometry or health assessment.

The course does, however, include a lot of material and some is study required in order pass the written and practical assessments.

Once registered, 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 (a free download from the Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety website).

Here’s the link to Code of Practice on the Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety website.

To graduate from this course students must demonstrate competence in the 16 elements described in AS/NZS1269.4. Assessment of competence is via practical assessment and open book written assessment.

The written assessment includes a pre-course assignment, quizes during the course and an open book test on the final day.

On the final day students’ practical skills are formally assessed, using well-practiced templates and guides worked on during the course.

The pass rate for this course is high (over 90%). Supplementary assessments are offered, if required.

Course graduates receive a Certificate of Competence from The Hearing Company, Australia’s leading occupational audiometry course provider. The Certificate describes competency in the key aspects of occupational audiometry as detailed in: Australian Standard AS/NZS 1269.4, Managing Noise and Preventing Hearing Loss at Work Code of Practice and WA Work Health & Safety regulation 58/118.

The skills obtained from this course can be used in any occupational audiometry setting in Australia and the Asia Pacific region.

Here’s what previous students have said about our comprehensive 5-day courses:

“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. We also aim to engage and challenge, and many graduates find the course to be interesting (and even fun!). Our teachers certainly enjoy what they do, and this comes out in the teaching.

We supply all practice equipment including audiometers, otoscopes and consumables. On the first day of the course students are issued with a comprehensive Course Manual and Workbook.

Lunch, morning tea and afternoon tea will be provided each day.

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

• WA Work Health & Safety regulation 58/118
• 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

• Conducting hearing tests on adults following the Australian Standard technique
• Managing the effects of background noise on test accuracy
• Conducting otoscopy (ear inspections) safely and effectively
• Analysing audiograms and applying referral criteria
• Accurately describing audiograms and presenting test results to workers
• Ear anatomy, physiology and common ear conditions in adults
• Conducting an effective case history
• Audiogram comparison protocols and calculations (Australian Standard and other)
• Legislative and Australian Standards requirements for conducting workplace audiometry
• Effects of noise and other hazards on workers
• Hearing protection and other strategies for managing exposure to loud noise
• Managing challenging testing situations
• Detecting and managing equipment faults

Yes, except in Western Australia.

Most states/territories follow the specifications of the Work Health and Safety Regulations (or similar), the Managing Noise and Presenting Hearing Loss at Work Code of Practice and Australian Standard AS/NZS1269.4. The Occupational Audiometry Course provides full compliance with these key documents.

The WA government has specific, stringent requirements for conducting workplace audiometry and managing test results; and significantly different to the requirements in other parts of the country.

Yes, the course materials and skill set are drawn directly from 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.

In short, there is a lot of material to cover and skills to learn.

Our focus is on ensuring students complete the course with confident in their new skills and knowledge, and this takes time. We provide multiple one-on-one practice sessions, each building on the previous until students are capable of independently and accurately completing a full assessment.

The Australian Standard and Code of Practice are detailed documents. Students need time to understand and discuss the material, practice testing techniques and learn how to apply into everyday practice in the workplace.

We acknowledge that people learn at different paces (some much faster than others) and in any group this is a challenge for the teachers. We’ve found that running the course over 5 days allows the majority of students to pass, without being too stressful for less confident learners.

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, passing the course is not guaranteed although the pass rate is very high (over 90%).

Students must pass written and practical assessments to obtain a Certificate of Competence.

To pass the practical assessment students are required to demonstrate “competence” (as specified in AS/NZS1269.4) in the key aspects of hearing assessment. Marks towards the written assessment come from a pre-course assignment, in-course quizzes and an open assessment on day 5.

Passing the course usually requires some application, effort and study. While assessments can be challenging, we draw on over 30 years’ experience to design methods and materials to support the majority of students (so far, 2,0000 and counting…) to learn what’s required over 5 days.

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 Audiometric Surveillance Course provides up to 35 hours of contact and tuition, which can be claimed towards CPD requirements.

We conduct public courses at a quality training venue in Floreat.

We can also conduct in-company courses for organisations with multiple employees to be trained. Our equipment and trainers are 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.