[Audiological supervision of workers exposed to noise in Austria (author's transl)]

The recent Worker's Protection Law entails an extension of the local precautions in industries with a high noise level. In order that the necessary duties can be better accomplished the Federal Ministry for Social Administration has appointed "authorized doctors". A large proportion of these colleagues are not ENT specialists. It was therefore necessary to work out guiding principles which permit as exact and uniform an assessment of the worker as possible both at the medical examination on taking up work and at the routine audiometric checks. These guide-lines are discussed in greater detail with reference to practical examples.