Hearing damage from loud alarm - advice appreciated

knuck

I'm looking for a bit of insight here, if anyone could help that would be great.

An alarm fitter came to our house on Monday to do a check on the alarm system. And while I was stood in the hall wall he set off the internal alarm. It was incredibly loud and it practically dropped me to my knees instantly till I covered my ears. Since then I have had intense ringing in my ears, earaches, cloudy hearing and it feels like there is water in my internal ear. I think it did serious damage. He gave no indication or warning that the alarm was going to be even remotely that in the vicinity of that volume/intensity, he just causally said he was going to be making some noise - a hover makes noise, this was like a shotgun going off beside my head. All he had to say was you might want to leave the hall or cover your ears as this is going to be quiet loud. Even some indication.

Surely someone who fits and works with alarms on a daily basis should know the dangers of sound of that intensity. And has a professional duty of care, not alone some common courtesy, to warn the public. Does anyone know if there is a legal limit for sound level from an internal alarm in a private residence. Because I find it hard to fathom that they could be allowed to be loud enough to cause the kind of damage that one caused to my ears/hearing.

Also, he became very aggressive and threatening after I shouted and doubled over, telling me he told me he was going to be making noise he doesn't give 'two ****s' what I think about how he does his job, and warning me not to push his buttons. All in a very threatening manner. All I said is would you not think to warn us properly. I don't know if it is against forum policy but I really feel like naming this guy and his company, and reporting him to any relevant body. I haven't been able to sleep or eat properly the last two days because of this. I have this sinking feeling that he has done permanent damage to my hearing, that was so ridiculously avoidable .

Thanks in advance

fred funk }{

In the normal coarse of events, if you were in the house by yourself and the alarm activated who would be responsible for the horrific damage to your ears?

logic

Were you not aware of the level of loudness from this alarm when you got it installed? If you had sensitive hearing maybe you should have waited outside while he checked the system and not stand in front of the alarm when he was working on it. Also he didn't design the alarm he was just checking it for you so its not really his fault.

KoolKid

Personally I think your over reacting here TBH. Yes an internal is loud , but Ive never seen one knock someone off their feet. Presuming this was a licensed installer the equipment he has installed should conform to the relevant standards so I doubt the internal thats installed would be illegal or breaking any health & safety laws.
I would say pretty much the same when I am doing a service . Warning before the bells activate. I don't think this needs to be a health warning. If there were serious dangers I would be asking for property's to be evacuated prior to carrying out a bell test or a walk test.

His attitude is a different matter & something I would find unacceptable. You should report that to the company in question.
You can contact the company's certification body if you require any clarification re the standard of the equipment installed.
But as for legal action?? Good luck with that one. If alarm systems caused serious lasting damage the criminals would be the first to try & sue.

Mod Note: Do not post up company or individual names in relation to this incident here.

fred funk }{

I'm installing alarms 16 years and have yet to see someone throw a hissy fit like your to the siren. He even warned you he was about to test the alarm. What did you expect to happen when an alarm engineer came to repair your alarm? Did you genuinely not expect the siren to activate?

Regarding the installers attitude, I'd love to hear his side of the story.

altor

knuck wrote: »

I'm looking for a bit of insight here, if anyone could help that would be great.

An alarm fitter came to our house on Monday to do a check on the alarm system. And while I was stood in the hall wall he set off the internal alarm. It was incredibly loud and it practically dropped me to my knees instantly till I covered my ears. Since then I have had intense ringing in my ears, earaches, cloudy hearing and it feels like there is water in my internal ear. I think it did serious damage. He gave no indication or warning that the alarm was going to be even remotely that in the vicinity of that volume/intensity, he just causally said he was going to be making some noise - a hover makes noise, this was like a shotgun going off beside my head. All he had to say was you might want to leave the hall or cover your ears as this is going to be quiet loud. Even some indication.

Surely someone who fits and works with alarms on a daily basis should know the dangers of sound of that intensity. And has a professional duty of care, not alone some common courtesy, to warn the public. Does anyone know if there is a legal limit for sound level from an internal alarm in a private residence. Because I find it hard to fathom that they could be allowed to be loud enough to cause the kind of damage that one caused to my ears/hearing.

Also, he became very aggressive and threatening after I shouted and doubled over, telling me he told me he was going to be making noise he doesn't give 'two ****s' what I think about how he does his job, and warning me not to push his buttons. All in a very threatening manner. All I said is would you not think to warn us properly. I don't know if it is against forum policy but I really feel like naming this guy and his company, and reporting him to any relevant body. I haven't been able to sleep or eat properly the last two days because of this. I have this sinking feeling that he has done permanent damage to my hearing, that was so ridiculously avoidable .

Thanks in advance

Maybe it was the fright you got when the alarm activated that has you like this. If two internal bells are fitted on a system side by side then it can be a piercing sound. Normally on a non monitored system with no external bell. I would not thing you would have any claim with regarding the noise as you have said the installer did tell you he would be testing the system. I would certainly complain to his employer and if not satisfied take it to his certification body. Regardless of the issue he would have no right to speak to you in this way.

kub

fred funk }{ wrote: »

I'm installing alarms 16 years and have yet to see someone throw a hissy fit like your to the siren. He even warned you he was about to test the alarm. What did you expect to happen when an alarm engineer came to repair your alarm? Did you genuinely not expect the siren to activate?

Regarding the installers attitude, I'd love to hear his side of the story.

Fred i agree with you, 21 years and I have never had a complaint like that. I have my own thoughts on the OP, of which I had better not post here for fear of upsetting someone.

God only knows what happens to the poor man when he has to turn on the lawnmower to cut the grass.

I love how he mentions the word public, FFS this is his house, obviously it is private property. Also its not as if the engineer just arrived in his hallway, he was obviously requested to be there. He warned the OP that there would be noisy, so why the shock?

Does anyone here know of a way that you can test a siren without activating it?

A oscar winning performance by the sounds of it, I have my doubts though that his crusade will be successfull.

Thunderbird2

Could have been an inferno lol

Jnealon

At the other end of the scale I was told yesterday that the alarm wasn't loud enough, can't win

knuck

kub wrote: »

Fred i agree with you, 21 years and I have never had a complaint like that. I have my own thoughts on the OP, of which I had better not post here for fear of upsetting someone.

God only knows what happens to the poor man when he has to turn on the lawnmower to cut the grass.

I love how he mentions the word public, FFS this is his house, obviously it is private property. Also its not as if the engineer just arrived in his hallway, he was obviously requested to be there. He warned the OP that there would be noisy, so why the shock?

Does anyone here know of a way that you can test a siren without activating it?

A oscar winning performance by the sounds of it, I have my doubts though that his crusade will be successfull.

Can I just clarify that I am just a tenant in this house, the landlord arrived in with the alarm fitter. I was just passing through the hallway when he set it off. I had no idea there even was an internal alarm, and had no idea it was about to go off or how loud they are. I understand you defending the fitter, that's natural, but there's no need to mock me.

I have hearing issues so my ears are pretty sensitive to noise - it's the bane of my life tbh. Calling it a 'hissy fit' is wide of the mark, the noise level of the alarm caused me physical pain and I still have earaches and piecing tinnitus. It 100% did further damage to my ears, no question. But I guess the fitter couldn't have known about my hearing issues and how conscious I am about avoiding high noise levels.

But the alarm would have been manufactured to a certain standard, which I assume to be as loud as is possible to be within the legal limits. I'm assuming under 120dB. But that is still obviously loud enough to do damage in certain situations. I was just curious if anyone here knew anything about those limits, and if it even mentioned in the relevant ISO standard.

kub

knuck wrote: »

Can I just clarify that I am just a tenant in this house, the landlord arrived in with the alarm fitter. I was just passing through the hallway when he set it off. I had no idea there even was an internal alarm, and had no idea it was about to go off or how loud they are. I understand you defending the fitter, that's natural, but there's no need to mock me.

I have hearing issues so my ears are pretty sensitive to noise - it's the bane of my life tbh. Calling it a 'hissy fit' is wide of the mark, the noise level of the alarm caused me physical pain and I still have earaches and piecing tinnitus. It 100% did further damage to my ears, no question. But I guess the fitter couldn't have known about my hearing issues and how conscious I am about avoiding high noise levels.

But the alarm would have been manufactured to a certain standard, which I assume to be as loud as is possible to be within the legal limits. I'm assuming under 120dB. But that is still obviously loud enough to do damage in certain situations. I was just curious if anyone here knew anything about those limits, and if it even mentioned in the relevant ISO standard.

The guy doing the service call did not manufacture the siren, after all if he did, its probably on a yacht or golf course he would have been at that time.

We are installation/ service engineers, our job is to ensure that our customers premises are secure and that the systems fitted within are to standard. So as is natural, we do make noise.

From your post as above, you have mentioned that you have a problem with your hearing anyway, well i am sorry for you. On your original post you mentioned that he should have warned 'the public', then above you mentioned that you arrived into the corridor while the engineer was there with your landlord. So how and when did he warn you about the 'little noise'?.

If it helps any and if my memory serves me correctly, a few years ago there were internal sirens which more or less everyone installed (SB 1's;Lads) on the box in which they came was mentioned that their sound level was 110 db.

My own advice to you though is, stay away from us, go walk your dog if we arrive to your place.

Bloodwing

knuck wrote: »

I have hearing issues so my ears are pretty sensitive to noise - it's the bane of my life tbh. Calling it a 'hissy fit' is wide of the mark, the noise level of the alarm caused me physical pain and I still have earaches and piecing tinnitus. It 100% did further damage to my ears, no question. But I guess the fitter couldn't have known about my hearing issues and how conscious I am about avoiding high noise levels.

knuck wrote: »

He gave no indication or warning that the alarm was going to be even remotely that in the vicinity of that volume/intensity, he just causally said he was going to be making some noise - a hover makes noise, this was like a shotgun going off beside my head. All he had to say was you might want to leave the hall or cover your ears as this is going to be quiet loud. Even some indication.

OP you say you suffer with sensitive hearing and it's the bane of your life. You also comment on how conscientious you are about avoiding high noise levels. Surely if your that conscious of it the first question out of your mouth when the engineer said he'd be making some noise would/should have been "how much noise?"

no.8

kub wrote:

I love how he mentions the word public, FFS this is his house, obviously it is private property. Also its not as if the engineer just arrived in his hallway, he was obviously requested to be there. He warned the OP that there would be noisy, so why the shock?

Engineer?????

no.8

kub wrote:

I love how he mentions the word public, FFS this is his house, obviously it is private property. Also its not as if the engineer just arrived in his hallway, he was obviously requested to be there. He warned the OP that there would be noisy, so why the shock?

Engineer?????

no.8

This is an old thread but please, if you do not design, manufacture or conduct controlled laboratory testing of alarm systems for analysis then you cannot call yourself an 'engineer'. Engineers are not wholey focused on 1 service. A fitter is the proper term. This is not nitpicking imo, this is defending the value of professionals, which most countries already do.

Secondly, I hope you have gotten through the rough patch OP, I understand mate

fred funk }{

You resurrected a five year old thread to post that?

Stoner

no.8 wrote:

Secondly, I hope you have gotten through the rough patch OP, I understand mate

no.8

There's no need to
A) Drag up a 5 year old post
Post the same thing twice, aimed at a user in confrontational way.