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date: 23 December 2005

embargo: 00.01hrs Tuesday 3 January 2006

Breaking the sound barrier: A New Year challenge for workers and employers

The UK's workforce will be facing a new challenge today (Tuesday), the first day back for many after the Christmas break. Leading charity, RNID, and the TUC are teaming up to ask workers and their managers to Break the Sound Barrier and take the charity's new telephone hearing check on 0845 600 55 55.

It is aimed at the four million people in the UK who could benefit from wearing a hearing aid, but who currently do nothing about it (Medical Research Council findings). MORI research shows that almost half of Britain's adults believe that embarrassment prevents people with hearing difficulties seeking help.

The TUC will be encouraging the UK's 28 million workers to make taking RNID's unique hearing check one of their new year's resolutions. And employers are being urged to encourage staff to take the five minute check either in a quiet place at work or at home. At mainline train stations across the country thousands of workers will be given postcards with the telephone hearing check number asking, 'Do you want to hear more?'

TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: "Many older workers are struggling to get by at work either because they are too ashamed to admit to their hearing loss or because they have no idea what to do about it. Many may also be reluctant to advertise it for fear that their employers may treat them less favourably as a result. But good bosses know that it makes sense to do all they can to help employees be as productive as possible at work and so most will I'm sure be keen for their staff to take RNID's hearing check."

More than 40 per cent of the over 50's have some level of hearing loss, which for many people will be something that happens naturally as they get older. With life expectancy increasing and pension provisions becoming less certain, there is the chance that more people than before may have to continue to work for longer. It is important that they are not frustrated by communication barriers at work because of hearing loss.

John Low, Chief Executive RNID, says: 'Both noise induced and age related hearing loss can take a real toll on people's confidence in the workplace. RNID's telephone hearing check is a simple and non-intrusive way of finding out whether digital hearing aids and practical changes to your work environment could help you stay in work. Simple solutions such as amplified telephones and loop systems for hearing aid users can make the world of difference to someone with a hearing loss and enable employees to perform at their best.'

NOTES TO EDITORS:

· 'Breaking the Sound Barrier' was launched on 19 December by HRH Countess of Wessex.

· RNID is the largest charity working to change the world for the UK's 9 million deaf and hard of hearing people. We do this with the help of our members, by campaigning and lobbying, raising awareness of deafness and hearing loss, providing services and through social, medical and technical research.

- All TUC press releases can be found at www.tuc.org.uk

- Register for the TUC's press extranet : a service exclusive to journalists wanting to access pre-embargo releases and reports from the TUC. Visit www.tuc.org.uk/pressextranet

Contacts:

Media enquiries: For further information, please contact RNID's Media Office on RNID Tel / text 0207 296 8137 or email mediarelations.team@rnid.org.uk. Or out of hours tel: 07944 038 635.

TUC media contact, Liz Chinchen, tel: 07778 158175

Press release (600 words) issued 3 Jan 2006