Hearing conservation measures of effectiveness across the Department of Defense

This article summarizes the findings from the first report of the new, standard Measures of Effectiveness developed by the Department of Defense (DoD) Hearing Conservation Program Working Group in 2018. When examining periodic hearing test results of DoD personnel, the overall risk of potential hearing injury/illness was stable from 2012 through 2018. The National Guard and Reserve components showed a higher potential risk of hearing loss, possibly related to lower compliance on follow-up tests when a shift in hearing occurred. Finally, the overall percentage of DoD personnel (who received periodic hearing tests) with hearing impairment decreased over the years presented.