Hearing Loss Claim at Royal Opera House

[GridGirl]

It might be in the employers interest to gather evidence of noise exposure elsewhere, e.g. social media photos of the player in a rock concert or in a nightclub.

 

Oh, we keep an eye on Facebook!

[david.elsbury]

A great reason to have a private Facebook profile and to not friend your employer or boss... :)

[Jivemaster]

Consider the sound level and dose from everything! I was once on Oxford street (London) with a meter indicating 82dB ambient noise just out an about among shoppers.

[sandall]

Consider the sound level and dose from everything! I was once on Oxford street (London) with a meter indicating 82dB ambient noise just out an about among shoppers.

Many London Underground lines will give you well into the 90s for several minutes at a time on faster sections - loud enough to make conversation impossible. How do you factor that in?

[Brian]

A great reason to have a private Facebook profile and to not friend your employer or boss... :)

 

But which, if you were to be pursuing a civil claim against an employer, you'd have to reveal to both your legal team and theirs.

[kerry davies]

Just an aside, Gridgirl, but what about crew, stagehands, conductors even? How does one limit their exposure to Noise At Work? Conductors normally cannot be rostered off for rest periods. Even stage crew might find rotation an item of conflict with employers.

 

I am still confused by the judgement. For example one para states that they accept that hearing protection cannot be worn at all times by musicians while another states that failure to reduce the upper EAV below 85dB makes the pit a Hearing Protection Zone where the use of hearing protection is mandatory.

 

The use of your tame audiologist horn player is good practice but again, because the lower EAV of 80 dB is exceeded, information, education and instruction is not an option but mandatory. You have to provide education by law.

 

I don't much care about traffic and ambient noise but what about the thousands of staff at big festivals who are exposed for long periods to levels above lower if not upper EAV? Bar staff and toilet cleaners in ear muffs? Sixty minute shifts for sushi sales staff? :blink:

[andy_s]

Consider the sound level and dose from everything! I was once on Oxford street (London) with a meter indicating 82dB ambient noise just out an about among shoppers.

Many London Underground lines will give you well into the 90s for several minutes at a time on faster sections - loud enough to make conversation impossible. How do you factor that in?

 

I can recommend the metropolitan line as being on the quieter end of the spectrum - I recently had to use it as a n alternative to my usual jubilee line journey when there were track issues at Bond Street.. I have taken to wearing the ear protection I use in the carpentry / metalwork workshop on my jubilee line journeys... I might look like a tw*t, but my ears don't hurt.

Edited May 30, 2019 by andy_s

[Junior8]

I am still confused by the judgement. For example one para states that they accept that hearing protection cannot be worn at all times by musicians while another states that failure to reduce the upper EAV below 85dB makes the pit a Hearing Protection Zone where the use of hearing protection is mandatory.

 

Ergo no orchestra pit can be permitted to exceed 85dB if players will not for any reason use protection.

 

On the other matter of festivals etc. it seems to me that employers will have to monitor, and probably should already have been monitoring, the noise levels for staff in the situations you outline.

 

 

 

[Brian]

Ergo no orchestra pit can be permitted to exceed 85dB if players will not for any reason use protection.

 

Simple solution. Sack them.

[ImagineerTom]

don't much care about traffic and ambient noise but what about the thousands of staff at big festivals who are exposed for long periods to levels above lower if not upper EAV? Bar staff and toilet cleaners in ear muffs? Sixty minute shifts for sushi sales staff?

 

I’m sure there are exceptions but every pro festival I’ve been on in the last 10 years has included noise training in with the general H&S briefing, has ear-plug dispensers everywhere, have proper noise cancelling headphone for radio uses and has monitoring devices on every stage checking the noise levels and providing real-time feedback that departmental bosses can access. Certainly in this industry protecting hearing is VERY important!

[GridGirl]

Just an aside, Gridgirl, but what about crew, stagehands, conductors even? How does one limit their exposure to Noise At Work? Conductors normally cannot be rostered off for rest periods. Even stage crew might find rotation an item of conflict with employers.

 

Our conductors generally only have two or three performances a week - the beauty of working in rep! Yes, rehearsals are more intense but they still don't have anything nike the number of calls as players do. Ballet conductors do do more shows (up to eight a week sometimes) however in our pit this isn't an issue - they don't cop the high volume stuff (yes, we've measured). The only time we've ever had an issue was a production of Don Quixote which had an onstage stockwhip crack which was so loud that the conductor couldn't stop herself instinctively ducking and putting her hands over her ears. It peaked at over 140dBC so they had to take action and the lash of the whip was altered so it wasn't so loud.

 

Opera crew I don't think cop the massive sound levels. They're at a good distance from the singers, miles away from the orchestra and the backstage foldback is pretty quiet as a rule (our artistic director insists it's kept to the bare minimum).

[kerry davies]

Thanks, the only time I have done ballet the director had the foldback cranked up higher than FoH. I thought then it was a one-off.

 

I am mildly surprised that the guy stood facing them all doesn't experience a higher level, especially as I believe they often rehearse by sections so get to spend more time exposed than individual musicians. I stand informed.

 

Tom, I know that production staff get what you say, I had buckets of foamies on every site over 20 years ago. It is others like caterers, litter pickers, stewards. I worked for several generator companies and never once was offered hearing protection. OK, they may have taken the view that as a freelance that was my responsibility. But Goldscheider also freelanced part time (Kylie etc).

 

I think we shall learn much more in time because these judgements can possibly be read as self-contradictory. If harm is foreseeable but the nature of that harm is unforeseeable how can one take preventative measures other than banning the practice? If musicians do not have to wear protection at all times, what is the point of declaring a pit a HPZ? Unless there is clarification of some points I fear that the ambulance chasers could have a field day exploiting ambiguity.

[paulears]

Tried ages to find this topic - and it doesn't appear in search results and it doesn't appear if you search a members posts who have contributed - how strange?

 

I've been at a big band week at a big holiday centre - I couldn't help thinking of this topic when I saw the five trumpets sitting in the tier behind the trombones, with their bells maybe a foot from the trombonists ears? not a one nighter either, the same band for three nights doing 2 x 60 minute sets. none, as far as I could see wore protection, and from where I was, it was pretty loud and that was probably 6-7m away.

 

Protection seems to have not hit the big bands yet it seems. The 18 of last night has become 22 tonight.

[sunray]

A great reason to have a private Facebook profile and to not friend your employer or boss...

I'd venture to say:

A great reason to NOT have Facebook.

 

A friend of mine who used to be part of the employment procedure for the British part of an international company always looks into the non public areas of potential employees FB and he demonstrated how much access there is by changing a random persons DOB.

 

At that I suggested he check mine and I was surprised how much of my information there was available, especially as I've never placed anything there myself.

[david.elsbury]

Are you high? You cannot change someone’s date of birth unless you’re logged into their profile; that’s one of the core ways Facebook identifies you and uses that info to verify you in the event you need to unlock your account.