Posted By Eric Burt Sharon Thanks for this. Do you have any more info / links? I am involved in a civil case whereby a teacher is claiming voice problems due to chalk dust (on-going), but I have never heard of voice problems causes by merely having to talk louder. Is there medical evidence to show that talking louder can causes voice problems and is there a definition of "louder"? This opens a whole can of worms for other professions - football managers, town criers, auctioneers, etc etc. Any further info would be appreciated. Regards, Eric

Posted By MarkSMark Hopefully the Guidance will recommend we muzzle the employees

Posted By Eric Burt Sharon / Keirnan Many thanks for this useful advice. Eric

Posted By Kieran J Duignan Sharon It's actually somewhat misleading to assert that voice loss (or other forms of voice dysphoria) is/are 'officially' a disease. Your source was a union website, not a medical source. For an indicator on the difficulties in reliably in specifying voice hazards and identifying valid methods of control, why not ask 5 colleagues how they define 'voice' and compare and contrast the differences? There is ongoing research about the sources of voice problems. As Delwynne observes, the consensual professional view amongst speech and language researchers is that 'stress' (what a ragbag term!) is a factor; more precisely, 'cognitive' and 'emotional' factors are 'psychogenic' sources where, as in the great majority of cases, there is no evidence of an organic cause. 'SaLT'(Speech and Language Therapy) research therefore increasingly advocates cognitive-behavioural therapy as a treatment which 'works' by assisting the patients to understand how their beliefs, values, feelling and thought patterns influence their behaviour in ways that result in voice production problems. When I did some research into the subject in Spring 2003, I spoke with a doctor-manager within the HSE; he reasonably observed that there was inadequate epidemiological evidence on the matter and it hasn't greatly changed in the last 18 months. That said, 'professional' voice users i.e. those for whom speaking or singing requires use of the use for a significant proportion of their time are relatively more exposed to hazards to their vocal organs than others.

Posted By Kieran J Duignan James Your observation gives a clue to your relative lack of youth! SM's are no longer permitted to use their voices as they did! Around 2000, the newspapers proclaimed with glee that the Surgeon General's Office had forbidden the traditional barking on parade. Apparently, a new occupational health doctor to the SG's office had advised accordingly, on the basis of several claims for occupational injury filed when he had previously been Head of Occupational Health in the L. B. of Croydon.

Posted By Kieran J Duignan I believe the answer to Katie's interesting question depends on to what extent the hoarseness can be related to demands and conditions of the individual's work; hoarseness can be a symptom of stress, for example. In the standard OSH manner, assess the work-related risks. Unless they're negligble, take control actions: a. rest the voice b. if a week's rest doesn't clear the hoarseness, as a Speech and Language Therapist is likely to require a medical referral (just in case there's a serious underlying organic problem such as a cancer), ensure the person has a checkup by a doctor in the first instance c. educate other staff in occupational voice hygiene and management. Like in many psychogenic areas of occupational health, voice dysphoria can sometimes become very problematic if the suffering employee is simply left to their own devices.

Posted By fats van den raad We are a society gone soft. RSM's not allowed to bark on parade grounds for fear of catching occupational hoarseness!!! Obviously never met my RSM. The man brushed his teeth with barbed wire and gargeled with peroxide. In all the years of him barking all day every day, I cannot remeber him being hoarse once. And the same goes for myself and other instructors too.

Posted By fats van den raad Done training 8 hours a day 5 days a week, never had any problem with my voice. I just make sure the ole' voicebox get well lubricated every night!!!

Posted By Rory O'Neill I saw a sniffy mention about the source of this story being "a union publication". Here's your chance to read for yourselves, on our fully updated webpage: www.hazards.org/voiceloss Incidentally, hundreds of union reps become members of IOSH every year. I've been one for donkey's years. Lots of us also have pretty impressive safety credentials (en route to this website I've been a fellow at safety departments at UCLA, De Montfort and Stirling). That said, I've met union reps with trade union training who were more effective than I'll ever be - and they deserve all our respect. If you want to see some of the supporting evidence to back these ravings, try: www.hazards.org/unioneffect www.safetyreps.org Best wishes, Rory Rory O'Neill Hazards Magazine www.hazards.org TUC Risks www.tuc.org.uk/risks TUC Changing Times www.tuc.org.uk/changingtimes Health, safety and environment officer International Federation of Journalists

Posted By Rory O'Neill A slight over-reaction, I think. I certainly did not intend to provoke such ire. The message was just a gentle attempt to remind the list that union sources can be just as informed and credible as any other. I'm sure some of you think this is true; I'm sure other don't. I can live with that. I have read quite a bit of correspondence on this chat site and much of it is of a casual, unguarded nature (some off topic, which I can live with) so I don't think my posting is particularly objectionable or remarkable in style. Yours, Rory

Posted By Kieran J Duignan Rory I regret that I conveyed an impression of 'ire'; more of irritation, perhaps. Actually, I believe I we share many objectives. My concern in this instance is that Sharon and your good self may be undermining your case by overstating it. Take care

Posted By Stuart Nagle Is there a standard test - e.g. decibels omitted at set distances - to indicate when one should stop shouting and implement control measures ;) Stuart