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The piping of loud music through speakers or the use of radios also playing at high volume on factory floors, assembly plants, garages, building sites and other industrial units has long been a feature of many traditional workplaces throughout the UK. Often company vans can have their in cab radios turned to excessive levels – and with windows rolled down – in earshot of nearby work crews.
Every year, hay fever sufferers watch the pollen count rise alongside temperature levels. But when the UK Met Office issues a heatwave warning – as currently forecast for the Late May Bank Holiday weekend – misery is increased not only for those with specific pollen allergies but also for the countless numbers of industrial deafness sufferers and others with degrees of hearing loss.
It is astonishing to learn that in the UK, in the 21st century, there is an estimated 1.2 million people still at risk of suffering permanent hearing damage because of the continued existence of excessive levels of noise within the workplace. Industrial deafness claim cases are repeatedly brought to court, which graphically describe the excessive levels of noise that workers in various different industries have endured because of a lack of employer responsibility to provide the required health and safety risk assessments, awareness training and adequate ear protection.
Coming to terms with accepting hearing loss and taking affirmative action can often be extremely difficult or just simply plain embarrassing – especially if awareness of the condition has only become apparent after a long period of time. Often adjusting to the need to take some form of remedial action or legal steps, firstly requires being open and honest with yourself and then, with others.
While a grumble is generally the limit of our response to having been awoken by the dawn chorus, the more aggravating annoyance of incessant dog barking may necessitate reporting as an anti-social nuisance, if the noise becomes a regular occurrence. However, there is a more serious complaint, which can arise over a period of time when actually working with dogs, and has led in some instances to noise induced hearing loss.
