Free CD Practice Questions

Question 1

A CD has attended every online didactic session of an approved hybrid OHC course but cannot attend its in-person practicum. The designated assistant is a current COHC with seven years of experience conducting both audiometric and hearing-protection fitting practica. The CD has verified the assistant's proficiency and notified CAOHC; staffing ratios are satisfied. Under CAOHC's November 2025 independent-practicum provisions, how should the session proceed?

Accepted Answer

Proceed with the qualified assistant under the delegation already arranged by the CD.

Answer

Proceed only if the CD also watches the entire practicum through a live video connection.

Answer

Postpone it; independent practicum delegation is restricted to licensed audiologists.

Answer

Replace the assistant with a physician; clinical licensure is required whenever the CD is absent.

Question 2

An employee's confirmed audiogram shows right-ear thresholds at 2000, 3000, and 4000 Hz changing from 0, 5, and 10 dB HL at baseline to 15, 20, and 25 dB HL, respectively. The left ear remains at its baseline values of 30, 35, and 40 dB HL. The employer is subject to federal OSHA recordkeeping; the right-ear change is work-related, no age adjustment is used, and there is no separate basis for recording the case. Which conclusion correctly separates hearing-conservation follow-up from OSHA 300 recording?

Accepted Answer

The right ear has an STS requiring follow-up, but neither ear meets the hearing-loss recording criteria.

Answer

The right-ear shift is recordable because the left ear supplies the required total hearing level.

Answer

Neither an STS nor a recordable loss exists because the right-ear current average is below 25 dB HL.

Answer

The left ear has a recordable STS because its current average is above 25 dB HL.

Question 3

While observing a learner perform manual audiometry, the CD notices that tones arrive at a predictable rhythm. The cooperative volunteer begins pressing the response button during silent intervals. Ear inspection and equipment checks are satisfactory. What feedback should the CD give first?

Accepted Answer

Reinstruct the volunteer and vary the intervals between tones before re-establishing thresholds.

Answer

Increase intensity until all responses coincide with audible tones.

Answer

End the session and require a diagnostic audiology referral before the volunteer can be retested.

Answer

Keep the timing constant but accept only responses occurring immediately after a tone begins.

Question 4

In a protector-selection demonstration, a worker's steady eight-hour exposure is 96 dBA, without impulse noise. Four comfortable, job-compatible fittings produce repeatable A-weighted personal attenuation ratings (PARs) of 8, 18, 27, and 35 dB. Speech communication matters, and the CD is applying NIOSH guidance to obtain sufficient protection without unnecessary attenuation. Which fitting is the best starting choice?

Accepted Answer

The 18-dB PAR fitting, which leaves an estimated protected exposure of 78 dBA.

Answer

The 8-dB PAR fitting, which leaves an estimated protected exposure of 88 dBA.

Answer

The 27-dB PAR fitting, which leaves an estimated protected exposure of 69 dBA.

Answer

The 35-dB PAR fitting, which leaves an estimated protected exposure of 61 dBA.

Question 5

A company uses only microprocessor audiometers at its worksites. While planning an initial OHC certification course, its trainer proposes replacing all manual audiometry practice with automated testing and interpretation of printouts. The proposed course still meets the total instructional-hour requirement. The CD should approve which curriculum instead?

Accepted Answer

Manual air-conduction practice, with microprocessor operation taught as an additional skill.

Answer

Automated testing practice, provided learners document the worker's history and inspect the ears themselves.

Answer

Automated testing practice, provided learners also complete a written test on manual threshold-search rules.

Answer

Automated practice plus a group demonstration of manual audiometry by the CD.

Question 6

Enrollment in an audiometric practicum increases from 16 to 19 students. All 19 will attend one concurrent session using manual audiometers. Two designated practicum assistants and eight audiometers are available; the CD is not available to serve as an additional assistant. What is the minimum addition needed to meet CAOHC's personnel and equipment ratios?

Accepted Answer

One practicum assistant and two audiometers.

Answer

No additional assistant and two audiometers.

Answer

One practicum assistant and one audiometer.

Answer

Two practicum assistants and two audiometers.

Question 7

A 67-year-old maintenance worker volunteers for an audiometry demonstration. Unexpected high-frequency threshold elevations appear with correctly positioned supra-aural earphones. The thresholds return to the worker's documented baseline with the audiometer's calibrated insert-earphone configuration, then rise again when the supra-aural earphones are reapplied. Equipment checks and room conditions are satisfactory throughout. What mechanism best explains this reproducible pattern?

Accepted Answer

Ear-canal collapse caused by pressure from the supra-aural earphone cushions.

Answer

Middle-ear fluid that impairs air conduction but is bypassed by insert earphones.

Answer

Age-related sensorineural loss that becomes apparent only with supra-aural testing.

Answer

Temporary cochlear fatigue that resolves during each change of earphone type.

Question 8

An instructor states that federal OSHA requires every employee exposed above 85 dBA to wear hearing protectors. A learner asks about a general-industry employee with a steady 87-dBA eight-hour TWA, a valid baseline audiogram, and no standard threshold shift. No stricter state or employer rule applies. Which correction accurately distinguishes availability from mandatory use?

Accepted Answer

Protectors must be available at no cost; these facts alone do not trigger OSHA's mandatory-use requirement.

Answer

Hearing protectors must be worn because crossing the action level automatically makes their use mandatory.

Answer

Protectors need not be offered because both availability and mandatory use begin at the 90-dBA permissible limit.

Answer

Protectors may be offered, but audiometric surveillance is unnecessary until exposure reaches the permissible limit.

Question 9

After redesigning an OHC course, the CD sees higher written scores and favorable learner evaluations. The remaining question is whether graduates use the taught procedures correctly after returning to work. Which finding would provide the most direct evidence of that transfer?

Accepted Answer

Supervisors observe graduates correctly performing the taught procedures during routine workplace testing.

Answer

Employers report fewer scheduling delays when arranging annual audiograms for their workers.

Answer

Graduates remember the threshold-search sequence on a knowledge test six weeks after training.

Answer

Graduates report greater confidence in their ability to conduct audiometry at their usual worksites.

Question 10

During an OHC course, a participant tells the CD that hearing in one ear became markedly muffled on waking two hours earlier, with new tinnitus and fullness. There was no recent hazardous-noise exposure, and ear inspection shows no obstructing material. The participant asks to finish class before arranging care. What response takes priority?

Accepted Answer

Arrange immediate medical evaluation for the sudden unilateral hearing change.

Answer

Allow class to finish, then reassess after a 14-hour period without workplace noise.

Answer

Schedule an occupational retest within 30 days to determine whether the shift persists.

Answer

Arrange a routine audiology appointment for next week.

Free CD Practice Questions

Domain 1: Developing OHC certification and recertification course curricula

Question 1

Question 2

Domain 2: Course Director procedures before, during and after OHC courses

Question 3

Question 4

Domain 3: Effective teaching techniques and hearing-conservation training resources

Question 5

Question 6

Domain 4: Federal regulatory changes affecting OHC courses

Question 7

Question 8

Domain 5: Scientific and technical advances in hearing-conservation instruction

Question 9

Question 10

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