A new National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) for Hearing Loss Prevention was published July 2019 and is now available from the CDC. NORA is a partnership program intended to stimulate innovative research and workplace interventions to reduce injuries and illnesses. NORA serves as a research framework for the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). The 2019 Hearing Loss Prevention Agenda was developed collaboratively among working groups and with a public comment period. 

There are five main research objectives:

1. Provide scientific basis for hearing loss prevention efforts such as promoting individual fit testing, assessing mixed exposures to noise and ototoxic chemicals, updating age correction data for hearing test evaluations, and developing better technologies

2. Develop effective, evidence-based education designed to improve hearing conservation program outcomes for exposed workers

3. Develop, commercialize, and widely implement noise control solutions on jobsites in key industries

4. Develop improved audiological tests such as early detection indicators and speech intelligibility

5. Improve occupational hearing loss surveillance by better tracking of hearing loss, tinnitus and related health outcomes

NORA documents are intended to identify research, information, and actions most urgently needed to prevent occupational injuries and illnesses. Each NORA agenda serves as a guide for promoting high priority research at the government level and in the private sector. To learn more and to download the 2019 NORA for Hearing Loss Prevention, visit the CDC webpage.