More than half a million people working in UK pubs and clubs risk permanent hearing loss due to extended opening times.

According to the Royal National Institute for Deaf people (RNID) and the TUC, club, bar and pub employers should be doing more to safeguard employees’ hearing.

Licensing law changes which allow extended opening hours will come into force on 25 November. As a result, the RNID claims that staff could be exposed to music for longer periods of time and suffer permanent hearing damage.

It is estimated that excessive noise in the workplace has already caused hearing loss or associated damage in more than 500,000 people.

As noise-induced hearing loss is mostly cumulative and not immediately obvious, the threat is often not taken seriously, claims the RNID although it is preventable through noise-reduction strategies and providing ear protection for employees.

Music levels in some club and bar venues can be as loud as an aircraft taking off – 110dB(A).

Director of communications at the RNID, Brian Lamb, said: “With more licensed premises opening longer and playing loud, amplified music, staff might not realise their hearing is being put at such a risk.” Details: www.rnid.org.uk