The ear pieces worn by police officers across the country might be damaging their hearing, researchers have warned.
The devices – worn by most officers in the UK – are capable of high sound levels so they can be heard over background noise.
Police wear them in one ear to keep in contact with each other on duty.
A new study of frontline officers has revealed the gadgets could be causing long-term hearing problems.
More than 45% of ear piece wearing officers reported experiencing signs of temporary hearing loss immediately after using an ear piece, according to the research by the University of Manchester.
Furthermore, it found ear piece use accompanied by immediate after-effects more than doubled an officer’s risk of having tinnitus, and raised the risk of having diagnosed hearing loss by 93%.
Researchers said the symptoms were much more common in the ear with the ear piece than the opposite ear, increasing the likelihood that hearing problems were directly linked to use of the devices.
The Police Federation said officers have repeatedly raised the issue of hearing loss after using ear pieces.
Professor Chris Plack, of the University of Manchester, said it is not unusual for people to experience temporary hearing loss after being in nightclubs or concerts, but it is “concerning” for officers to be experiencing such effects in the workplace.
Lead researcher Dr Hannah Guest, of the University of Manchester, told the Press Association: “We were surprised that ear piece use with after-effects was so strongly linked to long-term hearing symptoms.
“The fact that symptoms tended to appear in the exposed ear, rather than the opposite ear, is a particularly telling finding.”
Dr Guest said laboratory hearing tests are now needed to confirm whether ear piece users have measurable differences between their ears.
Published in Trends In Hearing, the respondents were members of a long-term project on police health at Imperial College London.
Police Federation health and safety lead Richie Murray told PA: “We have significant concerns regarding the potential for hearing loss linked to the prolonged use of ear pieces, high audio volume levels particularly within shared estate environments and the inconsistent application of hearing assessments across forces.
“The issues highlighted in this report echo what frontline officers have repeatedly raised with us.
“The health, safety, and wellbeing of our members remain our highest priority.
“We will continue to monitor this situation closely and work collaboratively with forces to ensure appropriate safeguards are implemented to better protect officers’ hearing.”
Inspector Andrea Shoetan, president of the Disabled Police Association, said ear pieces are being worn more than ever.
She said: “As a serving officer of 20 years, the use of ear pieces has changed dramatically within that time due to the introduction of body-worn video cameras.
“Forces encourage officers and staff to use their ear pieces when they are in public to prevent redaction being required from body-worn video footage prior to court.”
Ms Shoetan said officers work in noisy environments and have to turn up their ear pieces as a result.
“The volume of the radio will be turned up to maximum with sound going straight into the ear canal from the ear piece to try and hear radio communications, so the potential risk of exceeded daily noise levels increases,” she added.
