More Information on Hearing Loss and Tinnitus
Entertainment and excessively loud music go hand in hand for many young people, whether experienced in nightclubs (particularly drum and bass clubs), bars or live music venues. Most nightclub goers will have some experience of tinnitus – usually a ringing or hissing noise in the ears immediately after leaving a venue. While in most cases the noise will subside within a few hours, for others the effects can by cumulative and irreversible. Tinnitus can seriously affect a person’s ability to sleep and even to maintain a normal conversation in noisy environments. Once cells in the inner ear have been damaged by noise there is no cure, and further exposure to noise can lead to permanent deafness which hearing aids will be unable to reverse.
A wide variety of workers are at serious risk of tinnitus, especially where exposure to noise is more prolonged and regular than for members of the public. Musicians, DJs, technicians, as well as regular venue staff such as bartenders, ushers and security guards all experience excessive noise at work as a core part of their job. In the coming years it is likely that most compensation claims for hearing loss will come from these workers.
Apart from these industry employees, the lifestyle choices of many young people are jeopardising their future hearing prospects. Loud music is regularly found in pubs, clubs and at live concerts, but is also experienced through headphones such as when listening to the ubiquitous IPod. Apple have even moved to address the issue, releasing a free Hearing Check appication for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. Further bad news for the young is that smoking, alcohol and drugs increase the risk of permant damage to hearing, as they reduce the natural protective abilities of the inner ear.
The Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 were only applied to the entertainment industry on 6th April 2008, following a three year period of grace. Employers must now provide hearing protection and hearing protection zones where the average noise exceeds 85 decibels. The rules now apply to all venues where a) live music is played or b) recorded music is played in a restaurant, bar, public house, discotheque or nightclub, or alongside live music or a live dramatic or dance performance. Hearing protection will most commonly take the form of foam earplugs. Specialist earplugs are now available for muscians and DJs, though many such professionals feel they inhibit their performance, and are more likely to accept tinnitus as a necessary occupational risk. Similarly it is difficult to believe that young revellers will be prepared to wear earplugs on a night out. This amounts to a generational timebomb of potential hearing loss, the effects of which will become apparent over the next 30 years.
More Information on Hearing Loss and Tinnitus
