Posted By John Does anyone have any information about people who are deaf working in noisy areas? Our Local company Doctor is recommending that one of our guys who is deaf and wears a hearing aid be moved to a less noisy area. Unfortunately this is not an option for us. I am in the process of sourcing PPE but does anyone have any other advice. Our factory is a 'mandatory hearing protection' area.

Posted By Jonathan Breeze Perhaps they had in mind the Paris v Stepney BC case, i.e. a greater duty of care is owed to the partially deaf worker? I don't know, I'm only guessing here.

Posted By Merv Newman I have had one totally deaf from birth employee. Doctor's written opinion was that there was no point in him wearing hearing protection. So we didn't require it. We gave him a vibrating bleeper that responded to fire alarms. Supervisor asked to go on a signing course, which we paid for. Working with him taught me a lot about really "visual" training aids, and taught me to speak more precisely. Eventually we developed "parallel" training programmes, with me talking and the supervisor signing. This worked so well that the local handicapped workshop asked us to help with their training. Freely given. We eventually employed three more of their people. I count this as one of my more rewarding "personal development" episodes. Thanks for reminding me of that (warm glow) Merv

Posted By John Thanks for all the positive replies. As mentioned previously our factory is a mandatory hearing protection site but we haven't enforced that rule with this employee because he is deaf. We have assumed (maybe wrongly)that ear plugs won't make his hearing any worse. This guy wears a hearing aid to help him hear trucks and machines running but probably more to the point to be able to communicate with fellow employees. I'm beginning to think that he should be treated the same as everyone else and told to wear ear protection. I suppose in a round about way his hearing could suffer due to him wearing a hearing aid if he doesn't wear protection. One other problem is that he finds it difficult to wear the many different ear protectors we offer. I am still looking at different options that will be compatible with his hearing aid but without success at the moment. We don't want to move him to another area but if he won't follow the site rules then we are into a disciplinary process. John

Posted By John I would like to re-visit a subject I raised at the end of May concerning an employee who has a hearing impairment. This person works in an area classified as a 'hearing protection is mandatory zone.' After visitng our occupational nurse he was referred to an ENT specialist, the same specialist who has carried out several operations on his ears over the last thirty years. The report from the specialist recommended that if he cannot be moved to a less noisy area then his hearing aid should be removed. The reason for this being, with the hearing aid in the volume can be set so high that more damage could potentially be done. He then confuses the matter by saying that he doesn't have to wear any hearing protection because of the inbuilt protection caused by the deafness. My problem is that by allowing him to carry on wearing the aid leaves the company open to prosecution and possible claims in the future. I've carried out the risk assessment and recommended a buddy system along with further training for himself and others who work around him. I've tried the PPE route without any luck, this guy wears one hearing aid which is plugged into his ear during his time in work. He doesn't want to wear any other plugs or muffs as these bring other problems on. I have found a contact that will make protectors out of a similar material as the aid he now wears but this still isn't acceptable to him. I have suggested to him the Job centre plus route and given him contact numbers along with some other information but his union are involved now and accusing the company of increasing the risk to him if he is made to remove the hearing aid. This is partially true and I am very sympathetic to this whole case and want to find a solution. His union have asked if the company could simply get him to sign a disclaimer to say he can carry on wearing the aid but promises to keep it at a low volume. I've told them this isn't a good alternative. The top and bottom of the case is, a). Ask him to remove the aid and make life more difficult for him. b). Keep the aid in and leave the company open to prosecution. Sorry this has been a long winded explanation but if anyone can help I would be grateful. John

Posted By Fred Pratley John, The hearing specialists will have an accurate profile of frequencies your man can hear and a check must be made (as per usual) to ensure the hearing protection you provide is as good as you can get on those frequencies, and then do a frequency analysis of the noise in your factory. This will give a view on how the noise in the factory may affect his remaining hearing. I would then proceed to perform the RA of his work (what does he actually do?) as if he is totally deaf - i.e. the very worse case scenario, as this is a foresseable outcome of his condition. If hearing (like sight) is a requirement to be able to perform his job, given reasonable adjustments of course, then perhaps this is a straight HR matter and it would be to your mutual benefit for this man to seek alternative employment while he has some hearing left? If hearing is not a requirement and you can maintain a safe working environment for him (and get Union agreement on this point) if he were totally deaf, then he does not need the hearing aid and you can reasonably insist he does not use it at work? Fred