THE COUNCIL OF ACCREDITATION in Occupational Hearing Conservation (CAOHC) has recently voted to produce two videotapes which will be accepted as authorized stitutions for live presentations in a hearing conservation workshop. While use of qualified instructors is a preferred mechanism for providing focused instructions, CAOHC recognizes that it is often difficult to obtain appropriate support from individuals in certain professions (e.g., otolaryngology or industrial hygiene), especially when courses are taught by individuals who are "obliged" to fill in as one of three CAOHC-recognized professions. When these videotapes ("Anatomy and Physiology of the Ear" and "Noise measurement and Control") are ready, course directors may be able to keep the classes focused on essential material, rather than drifting to nonessential material or missing critical teaching points. The course director will be able, after showing the 30-minute video, to then discuss the teaching points with the class. Details are being worked out by a committee with two MAA members, LtCol Theresa Schulz and COL Dick Danielson.
In another area, MAA members are reminded that CAOHC must receive your application to hold a hearing conservation course no less than 30 days prior to the course. Recently, more than one military course director has sent in an application after the deadline (in one case, less than one week prior to the workshop). MAA representatives were contacted and defended the two cases. However, please note that such exceptions to policy do not help military course director status in CAOHC. While we currently enjoy several benefits not available to our civilian counterparts (e.g., waivers on course pubication fees, reduced prices for OHC applications and CAOHC manuals), the proportion of OHC's applying for CAOHC certification is far less than the national average. It is essential that military course directors prepare their applications on time, to meet the CAOHC requirements and allow proper planning of a quality hearing conservation training program. Civilian course directors desire maximum publicity and advance notice of their courses, so short-term notices from military course directors are unique and questionable.