Break The Sound Barrier

Leading charity, RNID, and the TUC are teaming up to ask workers and their managers to Break the Sound Barrier and take the charity's new telephone hearing check.

Some 4 million people in the UK could benefit from wearing a hearing aid, according to the Medical Research Council.

The TUC will be encouraging the UK's 28 million workers to make taking RNID's unique hearing check one of their new year's resolutions. And employers are being urged to encourage staff to take the five minute check either in a quiet place at work or at home. At mainline train stations across the country thousands of workers will be given postcards with the telephone hearing check number asking, 'Do you want to hear more?'

TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: "Many older workers are struggling to get by at work either because they are too ashamed to admit to their hearing loss or because they have no idea what to do about it. Many may also be reluctant to advertise it for fear that their employers may treat them less favourably as a result. But good bosses know that it makes sense to do all they can to help employees be as productive as possible at work and so most will I'm sure be keen for their staff to take RNID's hearing check."

More than 40 per cent of the over 50's have some level of hearing loss, which for many people will be something that happens naturally as they get older. With life expectancy increasing and pension provisions becoming less certain, there is the chance that more people than before may have to continue to work for longer. It is important that they are not frustrated by communication barriers at work because of hearing loss.

John Low, Chief Executive RNID, says: "Both noise induced and age related hearing loss can take a real toll on people's confidence in the workplace. RNID's telephone hearing check is a simple and non-intrusive way of finding out whether digital hearing aids and practical changes to your work environment could help you stay in work. Simple solutions such as amplified telephones and loop systems for hearing aid users can make the world of difference to someone with a hearing loss and enable employees to perform at their best."

source: TUC news release

 

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