A SURVEY commissioned by the Royal National Institute for Deaf People and the Trades Union Congress has found that call- centre workers are being exposed to loud, sometimes painful, noise levels which could lead to long-term hearing damage.
Of the 64 people who filled in a questionnaire, 39% said they were concerned that their hearing was being damaged as a result of exposure to noise at work. Over a quarter reported sudden loud bursts of noise coming through their headsets or ear pieces.
The most serious complaints have included dulled hearing and ringing in the ears, known as tinnitus.
One 29-year-old customer service advisor said: “One of the most troublesome aspects of the job is the high pitched bleep you get through the headset telling you when a call is coming through.
“If I haven’t been able to hear a previous customer and have the volume turned up high, the noise can really hurt my ears.
Another problem is that elderly callers, who are deaf themselves, seem to really shout. And with 70 to 100 people working in the same room, all talking at the same time, there’s a considerable amount of background noise.”
RNID media relations officer Marie Mangan said: “We want employees to be aware that loud noise over a number of years can permanently affect people’s hearing.
In the short term, overexposure to noise can cause dullness of hearing or tinnitus. These symptoms will often go away but should be taken as a possible warning sign that underlying damage to one’s hearing has been caused.”
She added: “There seems to be an awful lot of fear in the industry. People don’t want to speak up as they are afraid of losing their job.”
The 1989 and 1992 Noise at Work regulations require employers to prevent damage to the hearing of workers from hazardous noise levels and to provide health surveillance where there is a risk of hearing loss from exposure to loud noise at work.
But the existing law only covers background noise and in new industries as call centres, where the source of noise is through headphones, it is difficult to apply existing guidelines.
The RNID would like to see more research into call centres at government level.
Mangan said: “There is a discrepancy across the industry in terms of the headsets that are used. Some cut out at 80-85 decibels, [ordinary conversation is 60dB, shouting is 80dB] but there is no consistency about what is good practice.
“The industry needs to get together a set of guidelines. Obviously call centres can take the initiative individually but we feel the Health and Safety Executive and Call Centre Managers’ Association need to do research.”
While the number of staff employed in call centres in the travel industry is on the rise, operators deny there is a noise problem.
Head of sales for EasyJet John Macleod said: “Hearing problems have not been brought up as a concern. There is a level of background noise but it is not prohibitive.”
The airline has a call centre at its Luton Airport headquarters with capacity for 150 agents at one time.
First Choice sales and distribution director John Wimbleton commented: “I think the survey is trying to prove something that’s not true. It is news to me.
“In Manchester, we have 340 staff on three different floors. It is not a vast open area and the ceilings are relatively low too. The ambient noise level is low. Even in extremely busy periods there is not a huge increase in noise levels.”
He added: “Travel Choice has just opened a call centre in Glasgow for 150 people.
“It is purpose built, with sound baffles – a feature which changes the acoustics of the environment so that it is not incredibly noisy.”
For more information, contact the RNID helpline: 0870 60 50 123 or the Web site at: www.rnid.org.uk.