Acoustic shock - Online help and advice
Acoustic shock primarily occurs in call centre environments in which operatives wear telephone headsets throughout the majority of their working day; it can result in tinnitus, loss of hearing, anxiety and in some cases clinical anxiety and depression.
Injury related to acoustic shock happens when the headset wearer is unexpectedly subjected to a loud or shrill noise through the headset, often deliberately inflicted by a disgruntled caller.
As call centres have become an increasingly large employment sector, dealing with everything from insurance claims to NHS symptom advice, these attacks on unsuspecting workers have caused grave concern.
There are, of-course, health and safety regulations specifying measures that a call-centre owner/employer must carry out to ensure the safety of his workforce, and EU Noise at Work Directives also highlight vigilance against the effects of acoustic shock, but they do not go as far as making it law that an employer should use noise limiter headsets.
Furthermore, despite the marketing claims of headset limiter manufacturers there is little evidence, as of yet, that such devices work against the severest forms of acoustic shock; such as shrieks, whistle blows, bangs and clangs e.g. a phone being dropped perhaps.
As a result of acoustic shock compensation claims, call centre owners have had to become far more aware of the risks to their employees, and of all the issues relating to call centre management.
If you are a call centre employee or a call centre manager the following websites could be of great use to you in relation to acoustic shock.
The Acoustic Safety Programme: an initiative dedicated to educating about the risks, preventative measures and legislations surrounding acoustic shock. They offer a unique specialist skill base including; scientific research, clinical audiology and psychology, occupational health, ENT Surgery, health & safety, DSP and acoustics engineering, industrial hygiene, technology measurement and standards.
The Call Centre Helperwebsite: the UK's most popular online call centre magazine containing articles on management technology, research and call centre life.
CallCentreVoice is an independent, UK-based call centre discussion forum, established in 2001 to offer a sounding board to call centre professionals across the globe.
Contactcentrelink.com is an online call centre news and information service. The site contains a range of industry news and editorials for registered users.
The Call Centre Focus website is the online version of UK call centre magazine Call Centre Focus. The site features regular news updates, jobs listings, a call centre community' and a suppliers' directory, designed to give readers details of technology and service providers specialising in different areas in the call centre sector.
The Wikipedia call centre entry, although not a call centre website in its own right, does offer a great deal of information and links for anyone who is involved in call centre operations.
Acoustic shock and YouClaim
Here at YouClaim we have many years of experience dealing with workers' compensation claims for personal and work related injury.
We have specialised personal injury solicitors who work on a no win no fee basis thus ensuring you will never be charged a penny for their services whether your claim is successful or not.
If you feel you have been affected by acoustic shock please call our helpline on 0800 10 757 95 or we can call you back at a time to suit you.
Alternatively, fill in our online claim form and we will call to discuss the details of your acoustic shock claim.
