Hearing Loss Linked To Policing Duties

South Yorkshire Police Federation has urged officers to talk to their local Rep if they fear they are suffering hearing loss, especially if it is related to their job.

The plea comes after hundreds of UK police officers and staff told the 2024 National Hearing Survey that noise exposure at work had caused them to suffer hearing loss.

The first-ever Hearing Survey was carried out last year to identify issues impacting those members of the police workforce who are deaf or have hearing loss. Over a third (35%) of respondents said that noise exposure was responsible for their inner ear hearing loss.

The data suggested that a disproportionate number of police officers and staff aged 25 to 44 had hearing loss when compared with the general population.

South Yorkshire Police Federation Chair Steve Kent said: “As a Federation, we’re not currently aware that this is a large-scale problem in our force, but perhaps officers don’t have the confidence to come forward about this.

“So my request to officers is please come speak to us if this is an issue for you. We’ve got health and safety Reps and we can take this issue to health and safety meetings with the force.”