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Acoustic Shock in headset wearers
An emergency services command and control room perspective
by Paul Jenkins, managing director of Nomadtrack...
More and more the phenomena of acoustic shock is being better understood. The Australian experience and latterly, the UK experience has shown that acoustic shock can occur when unannounced sounds, materially different to normal speech, travel through the telephone line or the web interface quickly (under 16 milliseconds) and into the headset. These sounds may be characterised as having a specific tone (frequency) or a very fast rise in the peak energy of the sound, like a bang or clang, shriek or whistle. The resulting symptoms include pain, tinnitus and hypersensitivity to sounds (hyperacusis) amongst others. Command and Control personnel are no strangers to these problems. There is an already escalating pattern in many authorities that is seeing more claims being brought for acoustic shock injury and this is only adding to the more than £10 million that has been paid out in out of court settlements world-wide and the claim base is continuing to increase. "The problem continues to grow because there is still a reluctance by employers to take action on education, training and reporting in this area", says Nomadtrack. At present we know of 30% of Fire and Rescue services that have employed the Soundshield solution to combat this problem but little in Police and Ambulance although this is now changing. Unless employers take reasonable steps to control these problems and conduct competent risk assessments the current situation will get a lot worse. Sources of acoustic shock events: Paul Jenkins, Managing Director of Nomadtrack and an expert in acoustic shock says that the sources of acoustic shock events in the emergency services are well known.They range from loud bells and whistles, alarms, high background noises, radio interference to more recent challenges on sudden sounds being produced from new communications system installations. Leading organisations have already moved on to Version 3 protective devices that also monitor noise exposure both before and after the device as part of an on-going noise risk assessment process. This is an important step forward and is coupled with the provision of good advice and training on noise and acoustic shock. The new Control of Noise at Work Regulations do not include specific reference to acoustic shock other than the maximum noise level that no one should be exposed to i.e.118dBA. This also happens to be the maximum limit to which headset manufacturers refer when they talk about ‘being compliant’. In contrast, acoustic shock events can happen at noise levels significantly below those currently determined by legislation. The new legislation does however introduce a new action level of 80dBA that almost certainly will impact on a number of call centres in the UK in terms of normal background noise. Again, the requirement where noise levels exceed this level is predominantly education and training. Risk awareness for accurate reporting The reporting of acoustic shock incidents can only happen if employees know the risks and increase their awareness. Some employers regard ‘no reporting’ as an indicator of there being no problem. However, experience from other health and safety fields, where case law and claims has preceded legislation, suggests this is a very risky stance to take. As part of any control strategy employers and employees have a duty to take reasonable care of their health and safety at work. However, experience has shown that, from a legislation standpoint, the burden of proof extends into provision and use of work equipment (PUWER) as well as the Health and Safety at Work Act (HASAWA). This takes the duty of care way beyond complying with the Noise at Work Regulations and significantly reduces the burden of proof required – so take note. The leading solution in the UK command and control environment is Soundshield. This is now employed in more than 30% of Fire Services and its reach into Ambulance and Police is growing. One of the early adopters, East Sussex Fire has already moved on to the 3rd generation product that now provides enhanced voice clarity and can monitor and report on worker noise exposure and compare the data before and after the unit. However, implanting a solution is only part of the answer. It is vital for employers to introduce policy, training and education in this area that can only improve the overall ability of employees to protect and care for their own health at work. A legal duty Employers have a legal duty under the Noise at Work Regulations and under EU legislation 2003/10/EC to reduce the risk of damage to an employee’s hearing. Although awareness of the problem is growing amongst headset wearers, employers are still facing litigation because of a failure to educate and train and ultimately comply. An added danger is the emergence of IP telephony. Whilst a normal telephony headset will limit power in use to 4volts an IP headset does not have this limitation. This means that using VOIP services could carry with it an increased risk from acoustic shock events.This is an important consideration when using VOIP services into the future. Nomadtrack provides consultancy services on acoustic shock and is the sole agent for Soundshield in the EMEA. For more information about Acoustic Shock, visit www.acousticshock.org/www.hse.gov.uk/noise/noise.htm
