One in five workers struggle to hear everything said in important meetings

One in five workers struggle to hear everything said in important meetings

Jun 08, 202338 ViewsNone

One in five workers struggle to hear everything said in meetings and fear their hearing problems have held them back at work. A study of 2,000 employees found background noise (38 per cent), people mumbling (36 per cent) or speaking in a quiet voice (33 per cent) are the top reasons they struggle to follow proceedings. But just 41 per cent would be prepared to flag their difficulties during the meeting, with 40 per cent of those keeping it to themselves worried people would think they weren’t listening. While 37 per cent don’t want to seem rude and 29 per cent simply too embarrassed to ask someone to repeat themselves. It also emerged that despite 21 per cent fearing their hearing difficulties have held them back at work, only 35 per cent have had things checked by a hearing or medical professional. The study is part of research commissioned for national awareness campaign, Love Your Ears [https://www.hiddenhearing.co.uk/love-your-ears], by high-street hearing experts, Hidden Hearing, in the run-up to Deaf Awareness Week on May 2. The research found 22 per cent of UK workers said they either have or think they may have hearing loss. While a Hidden Hearing survey of 2,945 people with diagnosed hearing loss found 61 per cent admit to pretending to hear conversations at work with an employer, colleague or customer, due to a reluctance to talk openly about their hearing. Reasons given for this reluctance include fear of feeling embarrassed or looking unprofessional, people thinking ‘I’m not up to the job’ and even worry about being made fun of. Medical broadcaster and GP Dr Hilary Jones has joined Love Your Ears supporters in calling for greater awareness of the prevalence and impact of hearing issues in the workplace. He said: “Hearing loss is much more common in the UK workforce than many people may realise. It affects 40 per cent of people aged over 50 and incidence among younger adults in their 30s and 40s is on the rise – one in eight people of working age have hearing loss. “Far too many people are struggling to hear conversations at work and don’t talk openly about it. This can have serious implications for workplace stress, staff wellbeing and productivity. “It can also have an impact on earnings and careers, as people with hearing loss have been found to be paid less on average than the general population and retire earlier than need be.” Of those polled via OnePoll, 15 per cent admit to having had difficulty hearing a direct instruction from a manager. Only 16 per cent claim they never have to ask someone to speak louder, or repeat themselves, while at work. Meanwhile 61 per cent worry about their hearing at least some of the time, while 10 per cent are very much concerned. And 30 per cent feel they work in an environment where health issues like hearing aren’t actively supported. Dr Hilary said small steps can improve hearing in the workplace, and has backed a seven-step action plan recommended in a new ‘Better Hearing at Work’ guide for employers and employees, published in support of the Love Your Ears campaign [www.hiddenhearing.co.uk/love-your-ears-at-work]. He said: “If you notice a change in your hearing, please don’t ignore it. Get your hearing tested and talk about it at work.”