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Almost 1 Million Call Centre Workers At Risk Of Hearing Damage

It is being claimed that about two thirds of UK call centres fail to protect their workers against hearing damage from noise, acording to a BBC news website item. Whislt it states that a new report provides evidence for this, it does not indicate the authors of the report.

However, details fo the report will be presented by leading experts at the acoustic safety conference in Glasgow arranged to discuss the health risks to the UK's 900,000 call centre staff. Increasing numbers of injuries and illnesses are being caused by acoustic shock and other noise related hazards.

Over 700 people have so far suffered acoustic shock, with the compensation paid out so far totalling £2.5m, with a round 300 further cases pending. These are just some of the detail of the research done by the Acoustic Safety Programme, an independent body which aims to protect the hearing of call centre workers.

Chris Atwell, operations director for the Acoustic Safety Programme, said: "It can be a debilitating occurrence for a call centre worker. "They can develop permanent damage to their hearing."

Whilst Dr Mark Downs, executive director of technology and enterprise for the Royal National Institute for the Deaf, said: "Acoustic shock is not the same as noise-induced hearing loss and is believed to occur at sound pressure levels below those which present an immediate risk to hearing damage.It is still a relatively un-researched condition and RNID welcomes public debate on the issue."

As previously headlined by Unionsafety, the conference takes palce at Glasgows SCC on 27th and 28th November.

Source: ASP, BBC News

 


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