Posted By Paul Maddock In the office where I work, many of the staff listen to personal stereos using headphones. This is not a problem in as much as it disrupts work in anyway (it can be argued that it effectively masks the general office noise). However is there a duty of care to the employees to ensure that employees do not suffer noise induced hearing damage? I specialise in acoustics so I know full well the potential damage from the use of personal stereos, but was wondering if there is a precedent in these cases? Many thanks in anticipation.

Posted By Robert Woods Is the damage being caused by noise generated through the business of the employer? Is the employer being negligent by letting staff listen to music. Are the stereo's supplied by the employer. I think the answer is no to all of the above. There are going to be thousands of claims for industrial deafness in the future and the first thing the insurers solicitor is going to say is it was caused by wearing a personal stereo or car stereo system. We have tested the hearing of thousands of workers from local industries [mills, engineering and wood maching plants] and helped to get hundreds of them compensation. We had to prove negligence on the part of the employer to get this. For the people in your workplace this is going to be impossible. I am a dyed in the wool trades unionist but I have got to admit I would draw the line at people working for me wearing personal stereo's. They must at the very least affect the employess concentration and ability to communicate. I will keep my eye on this thread as It will be interesting to see if their is caselaw contrary to my opinion. Robert Woods.