Stop that Noise

I’m not sure whether it’s the scream of the slitting machines where steel on steel set’s your teeth on edge, or the incessant thudding of steel presses, or my penchant for rock music that’s done the damage , but after 30 odd years in Industry I am a bit “Mutt and Jeff”.

Now, I am not saying that it does not occasionally have its advantages, it allows me a bit of leeway in what I choose to hear, but it can be bloody infuriating. I have said yes so often to “er indoors” only to find that I have just agreed to paint the fence, or put more bloody shelves up. I can’t hear the “leakage” from the i-pod of the student sat next to me on the train, but then again I can’t hear telly unless I sit on top of it.

Now it might be a bit late for me, but I am grateful to Joanna from Edelman, for alerting me to the upcoming Stop that Noise’ awareness campaign which takes place next week from 24-28 October.

Around a third of employees in Europe are exposed to potentially dangerous levels of noise for at least a quarter of their time at work. Noise induced hearing loss is one of the most common occupational diseases in Europe and a survey by the UK’s Medical Research Council estimated that around 500,000 people in the UK suffer from work-related hearing difficulties. In the metal manufacturing and metalworking world, a study in France showed that a third of industrial deafness cases were from this sector.

Despite progress in health and safety, I still see many workers in noisy factories, without ear protectors, it may seem unimportant when you are young, but deafness is a “bugger” when you get older.

Get “clued up” and go and check the campaign out here.