Industrial Deafness
What is Industrial Deafness?
Industrial Deafness is often called Occupational Deafness or Noise Induced Hearing Loss. It is the deterioration of a person’s hearing over a prolonged period of time as a result of their working environment. Deafness that has been caused by exposure to loud noise within the workplace is not restricted to age. We have clients in their 40s who are suffering from industrial deafness.
How do I know if I have Industrial Deafness?
Our hearing is very important to us but most of us take it for granted. It is easy for you to get used to excessive levels of noise, especially if we work in a noisy environment on a regular basis. It is not difficult for loud noises to cause damage to our hearing and for us not to realise it at the time. Many of our clients have simply thought that their hearing loss was due to age.
Some of the signs of Industrial Deafness are:
- Finding you have to turn the TV sound up
- Not hearing the doorbell or telephone
- Asking people to repeat themselves
- Inability to tolerate loud noises
- Ringing in the ears – known as Tinnitus
If you think you may have suffered Industrial Deafness due to excessive noise in the workplace, you may have a claim for Industrial Deafness Compensation. We can arrange for a test to be carried out to show that your hearing loss was as a direct result of your exposure to excessive noise in the workplace.
Can I claim compensation for Industrial Deafness?
Your employers have an obligation to protect you from injury or illness in the workplace and therefore if you have developed industrial deafness due to hearing loss after working in a noisy working environment, and your employers did not protect you from that risk, then you may have a claim for industrial deafness compensation. Employers should all be well aware of the risks of noise-induced hearing loss because of the introduction of various laws, the first being in the 1960s. These laws should protect all employees because employers have to provide ear protectors and regularly monitor the levels of noise. If your employers did not take these steps, then you may be entitled to claim compensation from them for your industrial deafness.
Hearing loss caused by industrial deafness can take many years to develop and can often be confused with or go alongside hearing loss due to age. Therefore, even if you have not worked for that employer for a long time in that noisy environment, you may still be entitled to bring an industrial deafness compensation claim. By law, you have 3 years starting from when you first noticed symptoms or thought that they might have been caused by your work to bring a claim.
The type of industries where Industrial Deafness is a common occurrence are:
- Ship Building
- Printing Presses
- All types of factories
- Manufacturing
- Oil refineries
- Labourers
- Textile Mills
- Coal Mining
- Nightclub employees
- Pub employees
- Building sites
- Railway employees
- Airport employees
Read here about a case we have successfully won – Industrial Deafness Case Study
Contact one of our personal injury specialists
If you think you have sustained industrial deafness following exposure to excessive noise at work and wish to discuss how to pursue a claim for compensation, please contact us today by completing the claims consultation form above or calling us on 01213 696969 and speak to one of our personal injury specialists.
All our initial consultation advice is free of charge and without obligation. If you do have a valid claim you wish to pursue we will be able to do this on a no win, no fee basis.
Support Organisations
The following organisations may be able to provide support if you are finding it difficult to cope with your hearing loss:
RNID (Royal National Institute for Deaf People)
Deafness Research UK