Industrial deafness is caused by exposure to excessive noise in the workplace. Under the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 employers are required to protect the health and safety of employees by effectively reducing exposure to noise.
If your employer has failed to complete risk assessments, to provide personal protective equipment or to remove you from hazardous environments, you may be entitled to claim compensation for your hearing loss.
Occupations with higher than usual rates of industrial deafness include construction, ship building, entertainment, mining, engineering and the military.
There are four main types of industrial deafness. They are as follows:
- Temporary hearing loss
- Acoustic shock
- Tinnitus
- Permanent hearing loss
Permanent hearing loss
Hearing loss tends occur only after an extended period of time, so it can be quite hard to spot in the early stages.
Warning signs include:
- Struggling to follow conversations, especially if there is background noise
- Difficulty when talking on the telephone
- Complaints that you have the TV and the radio on too loud
- Constant ringing or buzzing in your ears
- Muffled hearing at the end of the day
- Being unable to hear through one or both ears
Claim compensation for industrial deafness
While deafness is a natural part of aging, if your hearing has been damaged because you have been subjected to unsafe levels of noise at work, you could be entitled to compensation. Employers have been aware of the risks since 1963 and there can be no excuse for causing workers to suffer injury through exposure to excessive noise.
Call us on 0800 0891331 and take your first step towards compensation. We are Scotland's leading personal injury firm and we regularly act on a no win, no fee basis. We routinely secure £1 million a week for our clients.
