(PRWEB UK) 26 July 2012
THE UK?s largest retail dispenser of digital hearing aids is warning workers that they risk deafness, tinnitus and other hearing difficulties if they fail to wear the correct hearing protection in the workplace.
According to Specsavers, which offers a hearing service from more than 400 locations, prolonged exposure to excessive noise levels can result in permanent hearing loss.
As a result, Britain?s most-trusted optician? is urging workers to wear personal protective equipment (PPE) when necessary and to book a hearing test at regular intervals.
The advice follows worrying statistics from the HSE ? the national independent watchdog for work-related health, safety and illness ? which reveal that over one million people in Great Britain are exposed to levels of noise that put their hearing at risk.
The organisation also states that 170,000 people suffer from hearing damage caused by excessive noise at work. Those working in factories or on construction sites are at particular risk.
A Specsavers spokesman said that it is often friends and family who are the first to notice a person?s hearing loss. Common signs include consistently turning the volume up on the TV or having difficulty joining in conversations, which can lead to an aversion to noisy or social settings. Suffers are also likely to ask people to repeat themselves more than once and to confuse similar words beginning with t, d or s.
If any of these sound familiar it is time to take action. A full hearing test takes about one hour, but web users can also access a three minute online hearing check to see if they would benefit from a full test.
Specsavers hearing centres provide free hearing tests, hearing aid fitting and aftercare, with a range of a range of digital hearing aids. All come as part of a complete digital hearing package, which includes two hearing aids, four years of batteries, a four-year guarantee, directional microphones and telecoil/audio telephone. Prices start from ?495.
? Specsavers was voted Britain?s most trusted brand of opticians for the eleventh year running by the Reader?s Digest Trusted Brands survey 2012.
Issued by MEC Interaction on behalf of Specsavers
Specsavers notes to editors???????? ????????????????????????
Specsavers was founded by Doug and Dame Mary Perkins in 1984 and is now the largest privately owned opticians in the world
The couple still run the company, along with their three children. Their son John is joint managing director
Specsavers has more than 1,600 stores throughout the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Spain, Australia and New Zealand.
Annual turnover for the Specsavers Group was ?1.36 billion for 2009/10 and is forecast to reach ?1.55 billion in 2010/11.
Specsavers optical stores and hearing centres are owned and run by joint venture or franchise partners. Together, they offer both optical and hearing services under one roof.
Specsavers employs more than 30,000 staff
Specsavers was voted Britain?s most trusted brand of opticians for the eleventh year running by the Reader?s Digest Trusted Brands survey 2012
More than one in three people who wear glasses in the UK buy them from Specsavers * ? 9,700,000 glasses were exported from the warehouse to stores in 2009
Specsavers was ranked No 1 for both eye tests and glasses in the UK *
Specsavers is the largest retail provider of home delivery contact lenses in Europe and one of the top two retail suppliers of continuous wear lenses in the world
Specsavers is now the largest retail dispenser of digital hearing aids in the UK and offers a hearing service from more than 400 locations
Specsavers supports numerous optical and hearing charities, including Guide Dogs and Hearing Dogs for Deaf People. During its three-year support for Diabetes UK it raised more than ?250,000 to fund various projects
Since 2003 more than a quarter of a million glasses have been collected and recycled by Specsavers stores for Vision Aid Overseas, for use in developing countries. Specsavers has raised over ?370,000 for the charity since 2006, with almost ?245,000 going towards its work in Zambia.
*GfK NOP
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