Operators may be exposing staff to dangerous noise levels that could cause permanent damage to hearing. NIGEL HUDDLESTON explains the obligations on licensees to provide a quieter workplace and guidance on staying within the law
The DJ's delivered a blinding set, the crowd has been boisterous but friendly and the tills have been ringing with pleasing regularity. It's been a great night all round and you should sleep soundly, but you can't because there's a high pitched ringing in your ear and the usual gentle hum of the distant traffic sounds wrong like waves crashing on to shingle.
According to the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the Royal National Institute for the Deaf (RNID), you're not alone. A joint report from the two organisations suggests that substantial numbers of pub and club workers are at risk of suffering permanent damage to their hearing because of exposure to excessively-loud music.
The report reveals that some workers are routinely subjected to decibel levels equivalent to an aircraft taking off. There are rules that are supposed to be followed by venues that play loud music, but often these are not enforced in the way they should be, as outlined in the Noise at Work Regulations, by either the venues themselves or the local authorities responsible for policing them.
Staff are being put at risk
The problem was first highlighted when the report was published at Christmas, and Mark Hoda, of the RNID, says little has changed since then. "There is a lot of good practice out there, such as in Blackpool where the council has embarked on a number of initiatives with bars, but there still needs to be more. We did a study last year of levels of noise in clubs and bars and found that some were being exposed to about 110 decibels, which is a serious figure and can put a large number of people at risk."
Councils are enforcing the law
The Local Authorities Coordinators of Regulatory Services (LACORS) says it is confident that councils are performing their duty to monitor the regulations on noise, and that regular checks are made as part of routine health-and-safety visits.
A spokesman says: "LACORS will be working with local authorities to ensure that health and safety legislation is effectively enforced. However, it is the responsibility of employers in bars and nightclubs to ensure they are complying with health-and-safety legislation."
The Health & Safety Executive (H&SE) warns pubs and clubs that failure to comply could be issued with an enforcement order. Persistent offending could lead to prosecution and a hefty fine.
Some operators take steps to protect staff hearing. Regent Inns says that glass collecting staff in its Walkabout pubs are issued with ear protectors, while bar staff are encouraged to rotate working in the bar at noisy times with spells in the stock room.
Those are the sorts of measures that the RNID would like to see more of, but it's still obviously an issue that many in the industry don't take seriously. One pub operator asked to comment on what it did to protect staff from loud noise at work asked if it was a late April Fool's joke.
The problem with damage to hearing is that it's impossible to see. If a drinker smashes a glass and becomes threatening to staff you can see the problem and get security to step in.
If the music's cranked up too loud, you might not know that damage is being caused to staff's hearing until it's too late.
And if you or other staff members suffer hearing loss similar to that described at the start of this feature, it's an indication that there could be some long-term cumulative damage.
The H&SE suggests there is a noise problem if you or your employees leave work with their ears ringing, or if, while working, you have to shout to be heard clearly by someone who is two metres away. Anyone who's had to lean across a bar to communicate with a customer is in one of these places.
Permanent damage to hearing is usually caused by prolonged exposure to noise, although it can be caused by a single sudden loud noise. Initially the hearing loss may only be partial and the full effects may not be noticed until the natural reduction in hearing capacity caused by ageing kicks in.
Warning signs of partial hearing loss may be that you start to find it difficult to follow conversations in places where there is a lot of background noise or where members of your family start to complain that you've got the TV turned up too loud. As the defect worsens, sounds become muffled and it can become difficult to distinguish between t', d' and s' sounds.
Exposure to loud noise can also cause tinnitus, which can be, but is not necessarily, related to hearing loss. Sufferers experience a loud ringing, buzzing or humming which can contribute to sleep loss and cause stress.
Over 2 million sufferers under 60
The executive says that as many as 170,000 people have hearing loss or tinnitus caused by excessive exposure to loud noise in the workplace. Some 3.3 million people are said to have been so concerned about buzzing or ringing in their ears that they have contacted their GP. And around 2.4 million people under the age of 60 suffer from some sort of mild or moderate hearing loss.
There are two levels of daily personal exposure to noise at which employers are required to take action 85 decibels and 90 decibels. There's also a third, peak level of 140 decibels relating to a single isolated, sharp burst of noise.
As a gauge of what this means, 20 decibels is the level in a quiet room at night, 60 decibels is an ordinary conversation, 80 decibels is shouting, 110 decibels is a nearby pneumatic drill and 130 decibels is an aircraft taking off 100 metres away. The RNID study found that even in nightclub chill-out rooms, the average noise levels were 92.3 decibels. If your noise level is 85 decibels the action required is to make a noise assessment of risk. A competent person should identify those workers at risk, determine the daily personal levels of noise they are exposed to, and assess what hearing protection is required and of what type. A record has to be kept of the assessment and it should be reviewed if, for example, the sound equipment used in the venue changes.
Licensees have to assess risk
If your level of noise reaches the second level of 90 decibels then you have to take action other than providing hearing protection. This could include redesigning the sound system or other measures to reduce the daily personal noise levels to which workers are exposed. The risk has to be reassessed after any changes have been made.
Venues should also change staff shifts so that individual workers are not exposed to noise for long periods, and there should be noise-free rest areas. Employers are required to provide warning signs indicating when and where ear protection should be used and provide staff training on how to use and look after protective equipment.
New EU regulations on noise at work are due to come into force in 2006, with lower noise thresholds, but after fervent lobbying the leisure industry has earned two years' grace until 2008, meaning that the current rules remain in place for the next three years.
What employees say
"We were given ear plugs, but some people don't use them because they can't talk to customers. Most people are just asking for a can of a beer or a bottle of water though, so you can normally get by with hand gestures and lip-reading."
Club worker, Manchester
"The music is so loud that you can't talk to people near you sometimes. As far as I know we've never been given anything to help us. I had no idea there were any rules on how loud the music was allowed to be."
Bar worker, Birmingham
Where to get more information
l Advice for employers on noise at work is available from wwww.hse.gov.uk or at www.worksmart.org.uk
l Information on ways to prevent damage to hearing is at www.dontlosethemusic.com.
l Employees who want advice on hearing loss can call the RNID helpline on 0800 808