Industrial Deafness
Industrial deafness (also known as noise induced hearing loss) is a very common type of industrial disease, affecting thousands of workers each year. Industrial deafness is the deterioration of a person’s hearing caused by exposure to industrial noise in the workplace.
Damage to hearing occurs over a period of years where the employee is exposed to excessive noise levels in their work environment. The hearing loss progresses slowly and mainly affects the higher frequencies. Often, sufferers will hear everything as loud as they did before they developed the disease, but there will be a progressive loss of clarity.
Employers have a legal duty to protect the hearing of their employees and not to expose them to excessive noise levels. If an employer breaches their legal duty and exposes their employees to dangerous levels of noise, then those employees who suffer from industrial deafness may be able to claim for compensation.
Exposure to excessive noise in the workplace can also cause tinnitus. Symptoms include ringing, whistling, buzzing and humming in the ears. Tinnitus is often very unpleasant and at extremes, can be completely debilitating.
If you are suffering from industrial deafness or tinnitus as a result of the negligence of an employer, our experienced personal injury team can help you claim compensation.
To find out how to make a claim for compensation, call Ashton Morton Slack on 0870 609 3630 and talk to one of our personal injury experts.