Age effect hearing levels for a white nonindustrial noise exposed population (ninep) and their use in evaluating industrial hearing conservation programs.

A nonindustrial noise exposed population (NINEP) describing age effects for white males and females has been established that can be used as a reference in evaluating an industrial noise exposed population (INEP) data base. In making this comparison, it is desirable to match the two populations properly with respect to sex, race and age characteristics. Since there presently does not exist an equivalent black NINEP, it is necessary to first isolate the data representing the black population from the industrial sample. A definite learning curve exists in industrial audiometric data bases, with the degree of learning dependent upon the effectiveness of the hearing conservation program. Therefore, this variation must be considered when attempting to compare the industrial audiometric test data with the white NINEP data base presented herein.