Increasingly, I notice people at work wearing wireless ear buds, I completely understand the need for these in an office environment and taking teams calls BUT I have a few concerns with these when used in the field, when operating plant, tools and equipment. These concerns are centred around A) decibel levels and personal exposure to noise – will these individuals claim occupational deafness in the future even though their hearing loss may be self inflicted B) awareness of and with ones surroundings – the fear is always the lack of personal awareness and inability to disseminate different sounds, alarm bells, calls for help from a co-worker and in general distracted working. The solution is to prohibit their use. In summary and to quote Nancy Regan ‘Just Say No’.
Concerns about wearing wireless ear buds at work!
