Personal Injuries come in many forms but workplace injuries are among the most common complaints that leave people with no choice but to file a lawsuit against the responsible party. However, unlike industrial poisoning, workplace accidents, and asbestos exposure, hearing loss incidents are often not given as much attention by the victims as they deserve.
In case you or someone close to you is suffering from workplace-related hearing loss, you should contact a personal injury solicitor as soon as you can for consultation. Until you do though, here is everything that you need to know about noise-induced hearing loss claims in the UK.
What is Noise-Induced Hearing Loss?
Also known as industrial hearing loss, it can refer to any condition in which a worker has lost a portion or all of his/her hearing abilities due to damaging noise exposures at work. This is prevalent in naturally noisy industries such as construction areas, airlines ground maintenance, mining, engineering workshops, and general loud machinery handling to name a few. However, a relatively new type of workplace-induced hearing loss has come into view lately and it’s called acoustic shock. Acoustic shock primarily affects call centre workers, receptionists, or just about anyone who has to work with a headset all day. Sudden short and long bursts of intense noise or high-frequency-waves can damage the eardrums and may eventually lead to permanent hearing loss as well.
How Do You Know that You are Suffering from Noise Induced Hearing Loss?
The thing about industrial deafening is that it doesn’t happen overnight and it might even take people years from the first day of exposure to develop any significant signs or symptoms of hearing loss. So how do you identify it before it’s too late? Take note of the following signs and see if they apply.
- Do the people around you often have to repeat stuff because you could not hear or understand them properly?
- Do your friends, family and co-workers think that you talk too loudly?
- Do you often miss calls because you couldn’t hear your phone ring?
- Do you have trouble hearing what someone on the other end of the phone is saying?
- Do you get complaints from your family about turning the TV volume up too loud?
- Do you hear a constant buzz or ringing (tinnitus) in one or both the ears?
If you work in any sector that is currently exposing you to loud noise or have done so earlier and you can relate to multiple of the symptoms mentioned above, you might be a victim of industrial hearing loss or acoustic shock.
Do You Have a Claim?
Only an injury lawyer can tell you if you have a claim after getting all the information necessary to make that deduction, so it would be impossible to comment on that without knowing every necessary detail. Therefore, it is suggested that you contact an ENT first if you suspect that you or someone else is suffering from hearing loss. Once you have an official diagnosis confirming your suspicions, it’s time to start thinking about which law firms to contact for consultation.
An example firm would be Roper James, specifically since they specialise in workplace deafness claims. These solicitors have a “no win no fee” policy, so you can rest assured that you will not be misled into launching a lawsuit that you have no chance of winning because the clients have nothing to lose either way.
Having said all that, you should always keep in mind that an industrial hearing loss claim will only hold up in court if the party you are suing is really at fault. Inadequate safety measures at work, provision of inferior work/safety equipment and neglecting official complaints are a few of the common signs that the employer or supervisor in charge was at fault here, but there’s more to it. Until and unless you contact an experienced legal firm and tell them about your situation, you cannot be sure of anything really. After all, you are the one who is losing one of the basic senses of life, so you should not leave any stone unturned, especially when the consultation is free of charge.
What can I Expect as Compensation?
Once again, it depends really, but complete industrial deafness in both ears can fetch the claimant anywhere between £50,000 – £70,000, while the same in just one ear can get them a sum of up to £29,000. There are plenty of other categories of hearing loss for such claims and they range in between £4,000 – £7,000 for tinnitus or limited hearing loss and £16,000 – £29,000 for severe damage to the claimant’s hearing abilities. If you want an exact estimate for your particular case, calling your personal injury solicitor is the best way to get it.
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