support@helpuclaim.com

Primarily, acoustic shock occurs within a call centre environment in which operatives wear telephone headsets. As call centres have become an increasingly large employment sector, dealing with everything from insurance claims to NHS symptom advice, these attacks on unsuspecting workers have caused grave concern.

What Is Acoustic Shock?

Acoustic shock can occur when unannounced sounds, materially different to normal speech, travel through the telephone line or the web interface quickly (under 16 milliseconds) and into the headset. These sounds may be characterised as having a specific tone (frequency) or a very fast rise in the peak energy of the sound, like a bang or clang, shriek or whistle. The resulting symptoms include pain, tinnitus and hypersensitivity to sounds (hyperacusis) amongst others.

The call handler may feel shocked or startled by the sound immediately following the “shock”. These “shocks” can cause permanent damage to the hearing and more often tinnitus and hyperacusis.

Know Your Rights

Call Handlers should be trained to recognise such incidents and how to report them. Employers have a duty under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR) to report certain types of work-related injuries, including those which result in a person being unable to carry out their normal work for more than three consecutive days, and those which result in admittance to hospital for more than 24 hours. Such reports should be made to the relevant enforcing authority.

Let Help U Claim assess your situation and, in eligible cases, help you secure the best possible compensation.

• Nothing to pay
• No deductions from your compensation
• An experienced solicitor will handle your claim
• Friendly, professional and supportive staff
• Excellent claim success rate
• Peace of mind that we are a registered and compliant company with the Ministry of Justice
• Talk in plain English, avoiding legal jargon

We help people every day claim compensation following all types of accidents, injuries and illnesses sometimes in the most unusual of circumstances.

Call us on 0800 118 5855 or complete our online form and we'll call you back and tell you straight away whether we think you have a valid case and how you can make a claim.