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Noise-Induced Hearing Loss

Noise Induced Hearing Loss/Industrial Deafness is a recognised industrial disease caused by repeated exposure to excessive levels of noise. If you have worked in any noisy occupation after 1963 without ear protection and now find difficultly in hearing others, speak or suffer from noises or ringing in your ears or have experienced temporary deafness you may be able to make a claim.


If your audiogram shows a typical noise induced hearing loss pattern and you have been exposed to excessive noise at work then you should be able to prove that your past employers are liable to pay compensation. If the audiogram is not typical of noise induced deafness or if there are doubts about the level of exposure to excessive noise then it may be difficult to prove the claim. The cause of deafness is a medical issue determined by medical specialists rather than by lawyers. The audiogram will be arranged by the solicitor that we appoint to deal with your claim.

Some people are more sensitive to hearing damage than others. In a group of workers exposed to the same noise level, one or two workers will experience deafness before the others. This is another reason why deafness is often put down to personal factors or to 'getting old'. People may also suffer a permanent sensation of noises or ringing in the ears, known as ‘tinnitus’.
What are the symptoms of noise-induced hearing loss?

One reason people fail to notice the danger of noise is thattoo muchexposure to noise causes few symptoms. Hearing loss is rarely painful. The symptoms are usually vague feelings of pressure or fullness in the ears, speech that seems to be muffled or far away, and a ringing sound in the ears that you notice when you are in quiet places. These symptoms may go away minutes, hours or days after the exposure to noise ends.

People assume that if the symptoms go away, their ears have "bounced back" to normal. This is not really true. Even if there are no more symptoms, some of the cells in the inner ear may have been destroyed by the noise. Your hearing returns to normal if enough healthy cells are left in your inner ear. But you will develop a lasting hearing loss if the noise exposure is repeated and more cells are destroyed.

Noise

The loudness of a sound is measured in decibels (dB) and the length of exposure are related. The louder the sound, the shorter the exposure can be before damage occurs. For example, 8 hours of exposure to 85-dB noise on a daily basis can begin to damage a person's ears over time. Using power tools (at about 100 dB), listening to stereo headsets (at about 110 dB), attending a rock concert (at about l20 dB) or hearing a gunshot (at 140 to 170 dB) may damage the hearing of some people after only a few times.

Prolonged exposure to sounds over 90 decibels can damage the sensitive structures of the inner ear. Cells and nerves in the inner ear are destroyed by continuous or repeated exposure to loud sounds. If enough cells and nerves are destroyed, hearing is permanently damaged.

Workers at risk of hearing damage (industrial deafness) are usually those in heavy productive industry. Very high levels may cause damage after relatively short periods, even when the noise is intermittent. This may be illustrated by the frequent finding of hearing loss in people who have fired guns as an occasional hobby, as well as in people who are exposed to noise of lower levels but more constantly, such as those working on construction sites or in other industrial locations.

The first sign of noise-induced hearing loss is not hearing high-pitched sounds, like the singing of birds, or not understanding the speech of women and small children. If the damage goes on, hearing declines further, and lower pitched sounds, including men's voices, become hard to understand.

Deafness may be caused by factors other than noise suffered in a working environment and to prove the cause of the hearing loss it is necessary to have an audiogram carried out by an experienced medico-legal consultant who is sufficiently experienced in industrial deafness claims to be able to come to the correct conclusion.

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Protecting your ears from industrial noise

Noise-induced hearing loss is by far the most common preventable cause of all hearing loss and industrial noise remains the greatest source of all noise-induced hearing loss in the UK.

A recent survey found that a third of workers in noisy jobs left work with dull hearing, and a further 20 per cent suffered tinnitus. The report also found that it was not only workers in traditional industries who risked hearing damage - employees in call centres, restaurants, nightclubs, couriers and the police were also at risk. The Government has recently announced that studies are underway to identify health and safety issues, including noise hazards, in call centres and the leisure industry.

Are there any industrial noise regulations?

The Noise at Work Regulations 1989 oblige employers to take specific action when noise reaches the set 'Action Levels' - 85 dBA, 90 dBA and 140 dBA. (The dBA scale is a decibel scale which is modified to take into account the sensitivity of human ears to different pitches of sound).

These levels represent the worker's noise exposure averaged over an 8-hour working period and discount any noise reduction workers gain from wearing ear protection. These specific requirements are in addition to the general duty on employers to minimise risks to employees.

If noise levels exceed an Action Level threshold, employers have a specific duty to act to protect their employees' hearing. In such instances, actions to be taken by employers include:

·  Inform employees of how they can protect their hearing

·  Mark any 'Ear Protection Zones'

·  Provide employees with ear protection (ear plugs or ear muffs) and instructions on their use and care

·  Provide information on the use of noise control equipment

However, the Regulations also require employers to ensure noise levels are minimised before resorting to measures such as ear plugs or ear muffs, including installing sound reduction equipment and taking noise levels into account when ordering new machinery.

Assessing the noise levels in your place of work can be complex and, according to the Regulations, should be carried out by a 'competent person'.

However, the HSE advise that if you are unable to hear someone speaking normally at a distance of two metres, the noise level is likely to exceed 85 dBA. If you are still unable to hear at one metre, the level could be over 90 dBA.

The table below shows the maximum period that unprotected workers can be exposed to different sound levels without exceeding the limit as specified in the regulations:

dBA / Max Exposure
(Hrs per day)
90 / 8
93 / 4
96 / 2
99 / 1
102 / ½
105 / ¼
Legal limits that unprotected workers can be exposed to at different sound levels

Industrial noise levels vary greatly.

Average peak
Quiet office / 40-60 dB
Process plant / 80-90 dB
Lathes / 90 dB
Can manufacturing plant / 100 dB
Hydraulic Press / 100 dB
Foundry / 100 dB
Pneumatic drill / 110 dB
Chainsaw / 110 dB
Sandblasting / 112 dB
Diesel engine room / 120 dB
Riveting / 130 dB
Average peak noise levels by occupation

In Brief:

·  It is imperative that you have undergone a medical assessment/audiogram to establish the level of hearing loss you are suffering with.

·  You will require a diagnosis of Noise Induced Hearing Loss or Industrial Deafness by a qualified medical professional in order that we can assist you in making a claim for compensation.

·  You will need to have been diagnosed with the condition within the last 3 years and preferably have no more than 3-4 employers where you were exposed to high levels of noise.

Write to us at:
Your Claim Ltd
706A Wilmslow Road
Didsbury
Manchester
M20 2DW

Tel No: 0161 613 4715
Fax us on: 0161 613 4720
Email Us at:

or call on

Freephone 0800 052 1230

If you are calling from a mobile you may find it more economical to call our local number above

Note: Under the Limitations Act 1980, a person has 3 years within which to pursue a claim for compensation from the time they knew or ought to have known that their problems were caused by working in a noisy environment. If a claim is not pursued within this time limit the claim will become statute barred.

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