Hearing concerns

Alan McKinney is concerned about “shop workers being exposed to piped music” (Letters, 
1 March). My worry is for the poor punters, especially those who may have a hearing disability or a communication impairment. Last Christmas, I could not communicate with the member of staff on the check-out due to the “jingle belly” noise. We agreed the cacophany was insufferable, but after contacting the supervisor, the sound was turned down.

According to the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists, 250,000 children and adults in Scotland have some form of communication problem. Are not shops, restaurants and, yes, even banks, who inflict intrusive noise of this sort on their staff and their customers in danger of offending against disability discrimination legislation?

Rev Clifford Hughes

Rumbling Bridge

Kinross