When Air Force Global Strike Command faced rising hearing conservation demands following the expansion of total-force requirements, traditional booth-based testing workflows were no longer sufficient.
At Malmstrom AFB, the challenge was significant. The base had the highest number of overdue hearing exams within AFGSC, driven in part by the addition of more than 1,000 Security Forces personnel into the Hearing Conservation Program.
Rather than expand infrastructure or add manpower, AFGSC evaluated a different approach: WAHTS, the wearable sound booth.
Over the course of a three-day demonstration, 277 airmen were tested using WAHTS’ boothless audiometric testing platform.
The results were clear.
5x Traditional Throughput: Without Expanding Infrastructure
Using eight WAHTS units arranged in an assembly-line configuration,Malmstrom projected the ability to complete approximately 200 exams per day, roughly five times the throughput of existing sound booths.
WAHTS achieved this through:
- Simultaneous headset-based testing
- Portable deployment without fixed booth infrastructure
- Rapid operator onboarding
- Reduced manpower requirements
Lt Col Thomas J Doker, AFGSC Command Public Health Officer, observed that although multiple personnel supported the demonstration, he believes three appropriately trained individuals could achieve comparable throughput in routine operations.
The implication is strategic: high-volume hearing conservation no longer requires high infrastructure overhead.
Built for Scale, Not Just Testing
WAHTS was engineered to eliminate one of the biggest bottlenecks in hearing conservation programs: fixed sound booths.
Traditional booths:
- Require permanent medical facility space
- Limit simultaneous throughput
- Constrain scheduling flexibility
- Increase manpower requirements
WAHTS replaces the booth itself. The noise-attenuating headset isolates the test environment, enabling accurate audiometric testing in standard operational spaces.
This is what makes the platform scalable across missile bases, operational facilities, and deployment environments.
Reduced Man-Hours, Increased Compliance
From a command-level perspective, the value of WAHTS extends beyond throughput.
Improved efficiency and convenience directly support compliance.
When hearing tests can be conducted at scale without complex scheduling or infrastructure constraints, overdue exams decline and compliance is easier to sustain.
Lt. Col. Doker noted that boothless testing could reduce the number of personnel required per testing cycle. That manpower efficiency may free Public Health teams to conduct additional mission-critical activities, such as shop visits and occupational risk assessments.
In short, WAHTS doesn’t just increase exam volume. It increases operational capacity.
Built for Total-Force Readiness
The Air Force’s transition to total-force Hearing Conservation Program requirements places new demands on installation-level Public Health teams.
WAHTS directly supports this transition by enabling:
- Rapid backlog reduction
- Flexible scheduling models
- Portable workplace testing
- Appointment-free throughput models
- Reduced reliance on fixed infrastructure
AFGSC is now seriously considering the technology across all eight bases.
This is not a pilot. It is a scalable readiness solution.
The Strategic Takeaway
The Malmstrom demonstration did not simply prove that boothless audiometric testing works.
It demonstrated that WAHTS can:
- Increase throughput by 5x
- Reduce the manpower burden
- Eliminate infrastructure expansion
- Improve compliance sustainability
- Support total-force readiness requirements
For command leaders facing increasing testing demand without corresponding increases in budgets or space, WAHTS provides a scalable path forward.
Request a demo to explore how WAHTS supports rapid, scalable hearing testing while integrating with existing occupational health workflows.