NATIONAL HEARING SURVEY
USE OF RADIOS Almost half of respondents (589) reported using a police radio since January 2023, with Motorola and Sepura providing most of the police radio equipment for handheld radios. Of these respondents, 578 answered the relative question following being asked the question if they had any issues with hearing police radio transmissions. More than half (55 per cent) replied
stating they did experience issues with hearing radio transmissions. Respondents generally receive
transmissions through an earpiece or a speaker. There are a wide variety of appliances used, including Bluetooth headsets and streamers (a separate device that allows direct streaming of radio transmissions into the user’s hearing aid/implant).
SUPPORT Over 70 per cent of respondents do not seek support from organisations or peers for their hearing difficulties. Almost a quarter (24 per cent) do however, with the majority of those (214) getting support from their police force. Regarding how people with hearing difficulties are supported in the future,
many respondents would like their force to provide regular hearing tests. Another frequently mentioned idea is for the provision of superior quality headsets. Commenting on the survey results, Inspector Shoetan said: “Kathie Buffery and I conducted the first national hearing survey within policing because nationally we are great at supporting the public with the PLOD (Police Link Officer for Deaf People) network but provide minimal support for staff/officers. “The results were not a surprise to us. They showed we have a disproportionate number of employees with hearing loss in the 25-34 and 35-44 age ranges when compared with the general population. “Hearing loss is a normal part of the aging process but not at these age ranges. This indicates that certain roles within policing may attribute to hearing loss from a younger age. Exposure to loud environments, assaults causing head trauma, illness/injury and the wearing of radio earpieces could be a contributory factor. “We identified there is a stigma of
sharing hearing loss, particularly amongst officers, as despite officers making up 63 per cent of the national workforce, only 45 per cent completed the survey with police staff being the majority.
“We have made seven recomm-
endations following this survey which include gaining national understanding that not only firearms officers are at risk of hearing loss and support to quash the stigma so officers can get the support they need such as reasonable adjustments to perform their role. “We look forward to working with
national stakeholders to achieve these recommendations along with academics from outside of policing.”
RECOMMENDATIONS
• A national understanding of policing work environments.
• Support to quash the stigma and enable police officers and staff to feel confident in sharing hearing loss.
• Technology - Research new technology advantages vs current earpieces including bone conducting headsets. Potential for reducing hearing loss for police officers and staff.
• Updated medical standards for new recruits.
• Mandatory hearing test every two years for frontline and control room staff as well as any other roles that routinely use radios call equipment.
• Functional hearing tests for those that share hearing loss and already wear hearing aids or implants.
• Connection of hearing aids to radio headsets and other equipment, for example through device pairing. Future proof hearing accessibility needs.
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29 | POLICE | DECEMBER | 2024
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