A person who works in a restaurant, pub, club - or anywhere that plays recorded or live music - may be risking their hearing from exposure to excessive noise.

Regulations that came in two years ago now apply to the entertainments industry and Monmouthshire County Council’s Environmental Health Department along with their partners, the Health and Safety Executive, will be working closely with all businesses in the sector to ensure that the hearing of staff in the county is being looked after.

Hearing loss caused by exposure to noise is, according to World Health Organisation, the most “prevalent irreversible industrial disease”.

Bryan Jones, MCC’s cabinet member for environmental health said:

“I am deaf and wear hearing aids in both ears – this was caused by operating noisy machinery as a young man, not by disco dancing!

“It is a dreadful disability it is because it affects things like hearing conversations with friends and colleagues and even hearing the birds sing in the mornings. Hearing aids never quite compensate and are not pleasant to use.

“If you are unable to hear normal conversation from one metre away, even for a short time – around half an hour, your hearing may be affected.  All local authorities in the south east region of Wales want to be able to help businesses with live or recorded music and we offering advice on what they need to do to make sure they are protecting their staff.  We will be sending out an information pack to businesses, so keep an eye on the post.

“Importantly, reducing noise exposure to staff can be carried out through simple and cost-effective measures without having to reduce the enjoyment of the music to the customers.”