Nine years of OSHA Injury Tracking Application data tell a story about occupational hearing loss in America that most employers have never read. The numbers show which industries are improving, which aren’t, and where the largest concentrations of ongoing damage are occurring. OSHA 1910.95 requires qualifying employers to report hearing loss cases annually, creating one of the most comprehensive longitudinal datasets on occupational hearing loss in existence. According to the CDC, approximately 22 million U.S. workers are exposed to hazardous occupational noise annually. This analysis examines what the national trend data reveals — where the problem is improving, where it isn’t, and what the numbers mean for employers benchmarking their own program performance.
An automotive stamping plant’s safety director was surprised to learn their facility’s STS rate was running at 4.2% annually — significantly above the 2.8% national manufacturing average visible in ITA trend data. They’d assumed their annual audiometric testing program was working because no one had flagged it. Benchmarking against the national trend revealed the gap; rebuilding their HPD fit testing program and adding pre-employment audiograms dropped the rate to 1.9% over two years.
The National Picture
The aggregate OSHA ITA hearing loss data shows a total of more than 96,000 reported cases over nine years of data collection. The national case count has shown a gradual declining trend over this period, though the decline has been neither uniform nor dramatic. Several factors complicate interpretation:
- Reporting compliance changes: OSHA expanded ITA reporting requirements over the nine-year window, adding more establishments to the reporting universe. Some early-year lower case counts reflect fewer reporters, not necessarily lower rates.
- COVID disruption (2020–2021): Reduced production activity during the pandemic reduced noise exposure for many workers and interrupted audiometric surveillance programs.
- Underreporting remains substantial: ITA data captures only establishments meeting the reporting threshold. The actual national hearing loss incidence is substantially higher than reported figures.
Trend data can feel abstract until it’s your company in the statistics. If you’re running a program that’s been on autopilot for a few years, these national numbers are a useful benchmark for whether your STS rate is tracking with the industry or quietly running ahead of it.
Industry Breakdown
| Sector | 9-Year Case Volume | Trend Direction |
|---|---|---|
| Food & Beverage Manufacturing | Highest absolute volume | Modest decline |
| Primary Metals | High volume; elevated rate | Flat to slight decline |
| Fabricated Metal Products | High volume; consistent rate | Slight decline |
| Wood Products & Paper | Moderate volume; elevated rate | Flat |
| Automotive / Transportation Eq. | High volume; improving rate | Meaningful decline |
Trend Direction by Sector
The sectors showing meaningful improvement tend to share characteristics: larger employer size (better EHS infrastructure), organized labor involvement in HCP program oversight, and more mature audiometric surveillance programs with licensed audiologist PS review. Automotive manufacturing is the clearest example — a sector with historically strong hearing conservation program culture driven by union requirements and large EHS functions.
Sectors showing flat or worsening trends tend to involve smaller employer sizes with less EHS staff, higher workforce turnover, and historically inconsistent audiometric program infrastructure. Food and beverage manufacturing is the primary example.
What Drives Sector-Level Improvement
- Pre-employment audiometric baselines: Sectors with improving rates have higher adoption of pre-employment audiograms, establishing the baseline that makes both STS detection and WC apportionment possible
- REAT-based HPD fit testing: Program verification that workers are actually achieving attenuation consistently correlates with lower STS rates
- Licensed audiologist PS review: Programs with genuine licensed audiologist professional supervisor oversight show earlier STS detection and better follow-through on remediation
- Cloud-based audiometric records: Program continuity through workforce transitions, acquisitions, and facility changes requires records that don’t disappear when a vendor changes
Using Trend Data to Benchmark Your Program
- Industry rate comparison: Your OSHA-recordable hearing loss rate (cases per 100 FTEs) versus your NAICS industry average tells you whether your program is performing above or below sector norm.
- Trend direction comparison: If your case rate is flat or increasing while your industry average is declining, the gap is widening — and that gap appears in WC proceedings as evidence that the employer’s program was not keeping pace with improving industry practice.
The Soundtrace OSHA Hearing Loss Database provides the underlying ITA data in a searchable format, with industry benchmark rates calculated by NAICS code. See: Soundtrace OSHA Hearing Loss Database: How to Use It.
Frequently Asked Questions
The national aggregate trend shows a modest decline in OSHA-recordable hearing loss cases over nine years of ITA data, but the decline is uneven across industries. Food and beverage manufacturing, primary metals, and fabricated metal products remain elevated. Automotive and transportation equipment manufacturing shows more meaningful improvement.
By absolute case volume, food and beverage manufacturing leads all U.S. industries. By rate relative to workforce size, primary metals, grain milling, fabricated metal products, and wood products manufacturing show the highest per-worker rates.
It provides a benchmark. If your OSHA-recordable hearing loss rate exceeds your industry average — or if your rate is flat while your industry is improving — your program has a measurable gap that appears in WC proceedings when program adequacy is challenged.
Know where your program stands against the national data
Soundtrace’s platform tracks your STS rate, audiometric trend, and OSHA-recordable hearing loss cases — giving you the benchmarking visibility the national ITA data provides, applied to your specific workforce.
Get a Free Quote