LONDON — Employees of Britain’s bars, pubs and clubs are being exposed to music so loud it is damaging their hearing, a new report claims.
The “Noise Overload” study, published Dec. 8 by the Trade Union Congress and the Royal National Institute for the Deaf, reveals that more than 170,000 Britons suffer from deafness, tinnitus and other hearing problems due to unsafe levels of music in the workplace. “Many employers in bars and clubs are currently in breach of the law,” says an RNID spokesperson.
Both organizations are encouraging venue owners to provide the estimated 568,000 staffers nationwide with earplugs.
Under the U.K. Noise at Work Regulations 1989 act, owners must take action when staffers are exposed to noise levels above 80 decibels on a daily basis. Research undertaken by RNID indicates that noise in some clubs is reaching 110 decibels, comparable to being within two feet of an aircraft taking off.
Tougher European Union regulations on noise in the workplace are due to be introduced in February 2006 but will not be applied to the British leisure industry until 2008.
