London, Nov 20: A new study has found that call centre employees are at risk of injuries and illnesses caused by acoustic shock and other noise related problems.
Two thirds of UK call centers fail to protect their workers against hearing damage from noise, a report warns.
Experts in an acoustic safety conference in Glasgow say many of the 900,000 call centre staff in UK are at risk. Over 700 people have so far suffered acoustic shock, with the compensation paid out so far totaling £2.5m.
Around 300 further cases are pending, according to the Acoustic Safety Program, an independent body which aims to protect the hearing of call centre workers, reports the BBC.
Acoustic shocks are defined as "any temporary or permanent disturbance of the functioning of the ear, or of the nervous system, which may be caused to the user of a telephone earphone by a sudden sharp rise in the acoustic pressure produced by it".
Experts suggest there are many more people who have experienced acoustic shock but do not realize it.
It warns that, while some organizations are acting to safeguard the hearing of their staff, the vast majority is not.
Call centers can introduce equipment such as headphones which extract any potential causes of acoustic shock to protect the worker's hearing.
There should also be measures such as raising awareness of the problem and good incident reporting that the Health and Safety Executive recommend should be in place. (ANI)