Covering & Tinnitus - A Voice for Change

[Habituation4All]

I'm new to this forum and wanted to ask the community about how your workplace supports people with Tinnitus, or provides for the prevention of hearing loss in others?

As someone who has suffered Tinnitus for the last 8 years, Tinnitus, for me, has resulted in a modified way of life, and now I realise (I'm sure like most) that I'm in constant fear of the next thing that will set it off.

Some of the modifications I have made could be construed as 'Covering' in the workplace. i.e. I avoid louder events like Christmas parties or bring ear plugs which often results in questions or looks.

I've carried out research and realised that that there is no regulation that officially controls event noise levels :- hse.gov.uk/event-safety/noi... . To me this seems wrong, and I am advocating my own organisation to provide their own responsible measures i.e. highlighting when events may contain louder noise levels, providing guidance around ear protection, controlling DB levels to a certain max level.

Has anyone else managed to get change implemented where they work?

[CW2106]

Hi, I work in a relatively quiet office but my employers have been very good. My T is exacerbated by certain things, particularly electro magnetic frequencies. My employers have moved both the printer and the water cooler into a different room to accommodate my issues. They also allow me to work from home 1 day a week to reduce my exposure to all the electrical equipment. With regards to events, I rarely attend as the volume is usually too much for me. If I do go to anything like this I use some noise reducing ear plugs recommended by the BTA.

[Habituation4All in reply to CW2106]

Thank you so much for sharing, it's amazing to hear that such supportive and forward thinking organisations exist. I can't imagine what it must be like having electrical equipment exacerbate the cause of Tinnitus, especially given the amount of electrical equipment we are now surrounded by day to day.

My day to day unfortunately on occasion includes attendance to louder events, and sometimes I struggle to know when they are going to include louder noises. I often feel embarrassed by the questions or looks I get when I put in ear plugs during a keynote or section that includes a video with loud music. Do you ever get questions over using your ear plugs?