How noise can affect your health
Add an article Back to list
Personal injury claims for noise-induced hearing loss are becoming
increasingly common as modern workplaces become louder. There were a fair
quantity of noise-related workplace injuries suffered by employees in the
nineteenth century but, even with health and safety regulations governed by the
Health and Safety Commission, compensation claims for industrial deafness and
the like are common today.
Approximately 170,000 people suffer tinnitus, noise-induced hearing loss and
other ear conditions as a result of exposure to excessive noise at work and over
the next five years it is anticipated that claims for acoustic shock will become
prevalent.
There are around half a million call centre workers in the UK, most spending
their days in battery hen style offices. These staff are working against the
clock to sell insurance, double glazing and mobile phone contracts and sometimes
they don't get the privilege of rest breaks.
This means that call centre workers are on the phone for long periods and the
more time that they spend on the phone the more chance they have of being
exposed to an excessively loud sound, such as an angry customer screaming down
the phone or blowing a whistle to try and get rid of them.
But it isn't just the UK's work environments that are becoming hotbeds for
noise-related personal injury compensation claims. A new traffic study has
revealed Newcastle as the nosiest urban are in England.
Noisy traffic A report was created by the Ear Institute at the
University College London and Widex, a Danish hearing aid manufacturer, by
looking at traffic noise in 41 towns and cities across England during the daily
rush hours.
During October and November 2006, in each town and city readings were taken
in a variety of locations where people are close to traffic.
Average readings revealed that Newcastle was the noisiest city (80.4
decibels) closely followed by Birmingham at 79.1 decibels and London at 78.5
decibels. The quietest of the towns and cities measured was Torquay, giving out
a comparatively peaceful 60.2 decibels. Experts have stated that because
decibels are a logarithmic index, Newcastle is equivalently 100 times noisier
than Torquay.
Surprisingly, some small towns, such as Darlington at 78.3 decibels, were
reported as noisier than some of the bigger cities like Leeds, Manchester,
Liverpool and Nottingham. This may be because smaller towns have more traffic
passing through them.
To put these findings into perspective, a normal conversation, in decibels,
is usually around 50-80, a busy street measures at between 78 and 85 and a jet
aircraft taking off 25 metres away is roughly 140.
Personal injury claim potential Deepack Prasher of the Ear Institute
has commented, "Noise pollution in our towns and cities is a growing problem and
can have a serious long-term impact on our health and well-being...and if the
noise is loud enough it can lead to permanent hearing impairment and tinnitus."
As well as holding a risk of noise-induced hearing loss, places with
particularly loud traffic can have other health implications.
Deepack Prasher added, "Noise not only annoys but also can raise our stress
levels and associated hormone levels. It can disturb sleep and increase the risk
of heart disease."
According to a German study in the European Heart journal, living or working
in a noisy environment could increase the risk of heart attack.
When researchers compared over 2,000 heart attack patients with over 2,000
control patients admitted to trauma and general surgery departments in Berlin
between 1998 and 2001, chronic noise exposure was associated with a mildly to
moderately increased risk of heart attack.
If you live in Newcastle or one of the other especially loud areas detailed
in the traffic noise study you could try heading off somewhere a little more
serene. Researchers from Newcastle and Northumbria universities have created a
"tranquillity map" of two regions in the east of England, showing local areas
that offer peace and quiet such as world heritage site Hadrian's Wall. This may
be the best solution to reduce your chances of putting your health at risk and
having to contact compensation solicitors to make a personal injury claim.
Katy Lassetter, Online personal injury compensation claim specialists, with a
97% claim success rate. Call 0800 197 32 32 or visit
http://www.the-claim-solicitors.co.uk for more details.
