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Acoustic Shock Risk To VoIP Users

With the increasing use of 'voice over IP' (VoIP) technology in contact centre and office environments, industry specialists are warning that incidents of acoustic shock may well increase due to the risk from the headsets commonly used with this internet based telephony.

Furthermore, the risk to home users of such services provided by Skype, BT Internet Chat, and similar services is not even being considered.

Acoustic shock occurs when loud unannounced sounds, accompanied with specific tones and frequency in the signal, travel through the telephone line or the web interface directly into the ears of the headset wearer, causing severe pain to the user. Not only does this hurt but more importantly it can cause Tinnitus,sensitivity to sound, along with difficulty in processing the details of sound, and long -term hearing loss.

Although employers are legally responsible for reducing the risk of damage to an employee’s hearing under the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 which incorporates EU legislation 2003/10/EC, many fail to provide compliant headsets.

Furthermore, the headset and call routing manufacturers are concentrating on the 118dB peak level when producing noise delimiters, ignoring completely the fact that incidents of acoustic shock have occurred well below this level according to research done by the Acoustic Safety Programme.

The problem is occurring because PC headsets are often based on hi-fi standards, rather than telecommunication standards and don’t offer the basic levels of protection afforded by standard call centre telephony headsets. Indeed, as we have seen by the number of reported and increasing incidents of acoustic shock, even this basic protection in standard telephony headsets is insufficient to protect contact centre staff.

Paul Jenkins, managing director of Nomadtrack, quoted in an article on the 'Ping Wales' website says,“The growth in IP voice services is expected to increase occurrences of acoustic shock. In call centres and the emergency services, this phenomenon is already well recognised and being addressed, but IP presents a new challenge which must be addressed."

Commenting on the standard PC based headset he said, "Cheap headsets can land a company in hot water as the hearing protection is sadly lacking. A PC sound card can often push four watts of sound into a headset. This has the potential to cause temporary or permanent hearing damage.”

With over 5 million Skype users around the world, call centres are not the only concern. Jenkins explains: “Providers of such services - including Skype, Bulldog, Vonage - need to think about the guidance they offer to clients. If you are promoting the use of a VoIP service, then you need to be aware of the ramifications beyond the great benefit of free, high quality calls."

The problem can be very costly to employers.

Out of court settlements for injury claims that both the CWU and PCS unions alone have pursued for their members total over £2 million with a figure of well over £10 million in compensation being the overall cost to the industry. Individual claims for compensation can go up as far as £100,000.

See also:Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005

Acoustic Safety - The New Contact Centres Issue!

Source: Ping Wales. CWU.



 
 
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