Noise control

摘要

Around 18,000 people in the UK suffer Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL) - deafness, ringing in the ears or other hearing conditions caused by excessive noise at work1. That is potentially 18,000 breaches of noise at work legislation before we even get started. No matter how responsible UK employers are, and the fact that new claims for Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit as a result of work-related NIHL have fallen considerably over the last decade, 18,000 cases of work-related NIHL seems to imply that there is still a gap in terms of knowledge, understanding and application when it comes to Noise Induced Hearing Loss in the workplace. It's one of the most overlooked risks in the workplace but both employees and personal injury lawyers are becoming increasingly aware. Each year there are thousands of claims being made for "industrial deafness" due to occupational noise exposure. Call centres are even springing up that specialise in cold calling on the issue to drum up business.