Work related hearing loss claims

Pannone is here to offer help and support with your work related hearing loss case. Call us today on 0800 0384 384 for expert legal advice from our solicitors. We’ve been involved with some of the most groundbreaking Industrial Disease cases from over the past 30 years.

What is work related hearing loss?

Work related hearing loss, noise induced hearing loss, industrial deafness and occupational deafness are all phrases that describe the same condition. If you are exposed to excessive noise over a long period of time, the high noise levels can damage your hearing.

What are the causes of work related hearing loss?

There are numerous causes of hearing loss, one of which is exposure to excessive noise, for example, attending rock concerts on a regular basis, firing guns and listening to loud music.  However, the most common exposure to excessive noise is in the workplace.

The exposure to noise which has caused your symptoms does not necessarily have to have happened recently.  Often people who are exposed to excessive noise as early as the 1960s can suffer from hearing loss some 50 years later.

Many people accept hearing loss as a part of getting older but if you have worked in a noisy environment in the past and have noticed that your hearing is not as good as it used to be then you could be suffering from work related hearing loss for which compensation can be claimed.

In most workplaces today Health & Safety is taken seriously and the majority of employers provide hearing protection where necessary but this was not the case years ago. Many workers in the 1960s, 70s, 80s and 90s were not properly protected when working in noisy conditions. 

Employers were aware of the dangers and should have provided hearing protection from as early as 1963, but many employers failed to do this.

Examples of noise industries include:

• Rubber and petrochemical industries
• Power stations
• Construction
• Steel and metal works
• Heavy manufacturing
• Engineering
• Textiles
• Paper manufacturing
• Printing
• Aviation
• And many more industries

What are the symptoms of work related hearing loss?

As noise enters the ear it vibrates the hairs in the organ of the ear known as the cochlea.  Continuous exposure to a certain pitch of noise means that hairs in a particular place within the cochlea vibrate.  After years of exposure, those hair follicles die and can no longer grow in that area.  This means you cannot hear sound at that pitch any longer.

Unfortunately, exposure to noise at work generally damages the hearing at conversational level.  Therefore, you may struggle to hear:

• The television
• In places with background noise
• In groups of people
• The telephone / mobile phone
• The doorbell / door knocker

What should I do if I think I have work related hearing loss?

If you have been exposed to loud noise at work, as early as the 1960s, and you are suffering with hearing loss and/or tinnitus, you should visit your GP who may be able to refer you to a specialist consultant who can carry out a hearing test and provide you with information on tinnitus masking and/or hearing aids.

Can I make a claim?

Yes - If you believe you have hearing loss and/or tinnitus as a result of your working environment you may be able to make a claim for compensation.

Pannone has a specialist hearing loss and tinnitus team that deal solely with helping people who were wrongly exposed to noise at work.

Call us on 0800 0384 384 for a free consultation with one of our experienced Industrial Illness Solicitors who will discuss your condition and let you know if you could start make a claim and how we could help you.

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