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Traditional hearing conservation programs operate on a separation model: noise monitoring is one event, audiometric testing is another, hearing protection is a separate procurement process, and audiogram review happens whenever the professional supervisor has time. The data streams from these activities are rarely linked at the worker level. The result is a program that generates compliance documentation but doesn’t actually detect whether any individual worker is being adequately protected. Soundtrace was built around a different premise: that the three core data streams of a hearing conservation program — audiometric testing, noise monitoring, and HPD fit testing — should be unified in a single worker profile that enables real clinical and compliance decisions.
Soundtrace combines automated audiometric testing, noise monitoring, and REAT-based HPD fit testing into a single cloud-accessible worker profile, with licensed audiologist review on every flagged audiogram.
When a worker shows a standard threshold shift on their annual audiogram, the safety team asks: is this real? Is it noise-related? Was the audiometric environment valid? Is their HPD providing adequate attenuation? Without linked noise monitoring and HPD fit data, none of these questions can be answered from the record. The audiogram alone tells you that something changed — not whether the program is working or why it isn’t.
Audiometric testing. Automated microprocessor audiometry performs baseline and annual audiograms. The audiometer manages the test environment validation using Soundtrace’s event-level ambient noise methodology. Flagged audiograms receive licensed audiologist review. STS notifications, follow-up protocols, and PLHCP referral tracking are managed through the cloud portal.
Noise monitoring. Soundtrace stores frequency-specific ambient noise data linked to each confirmed threshold response event — the Invisible Booth methodology. This is categorically different from a fixed-room noise survey: it provides per-audiogram evidence of the acoustic environment at the time of each test event, supporting both test validity and OSHA documentation.
HPD fit testing. REAT-based individual fit testing measures each worker’s actual Personal Attenuation Rating with their assigned device. PAR results are stored in the worker profile alongside audiometric history and noise monitoring data, enabling the correlational analysis that makes individual protection decisions possible.
When an audiologist reviews a worker’s record showing a 15 dB shift at 4000 Hz and can simultaneously see that the worker’s noise dose has been consistently at 92 dBA TWA, that their PAR with their assigned earplug is only 8 dB, and that the audiogram was conducted in an environment with valid ambient noise validation — the clinical picture is complete. The same shift, reviewed in isolation without that context, leads to a letter and a referral, not an actionable intervention.
OSHA 1910.95 permits audiometric testing outside a dedicated booth if the ambient noise levels are validated as meeting the maximum permissible levels specified in ANSI S3.1. Soundtrace’s event-level ambient noise validation captures frequency-specific data at each threshold response event, creating a per-audiogram evidentiary record that exceeds what a fixed-room ambient noise survey provides. This approach enables compliant testing in standard workplace settings while generating stronger documentation than a traditional booth.
OSHA 1910.95 requires that audiometric testing programs be supervised by a licensed audiologist, otolaryngologist, or physician. Soundtrace’s CMO, Dr. Subinoy Das, serves as Professional Supervisor for client programs. All flagged audiograms receive audiologist review through the cloud portal. Per-audiogram communication between client staff and the audiology team is built into the platform workflow.
Soundtrace provides a demo of the cloud portal — showing how audiometric history, noise monitoring data, and HPD fit test results come together in a single worker profile.
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