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Noise Induced Hearing Loss

When an individual is overexposed to excessive sound levels, this can result in permanent noise induced hearing loss. Damage can arise from exposure to a brief but intense sound, such as an explosion or from regular exposure to excessive sound levels over time.

The first symptom of noise induced hearing loss is often difficulty hearing a conversation against a noisy background. Speech may sound "muffled". This is because consonants are lost first. Family life may be disrupted due to turning televisions and radios up and failing to hear doorbells and telephones. Hearing loss may or may not be accompanied by tinnitus - a ringing, buzzing or fluttering in one or both ears.

If you feel that you suffer from symptoms of noise induced hearing loss and/or tinnitus or have been advised by a Consultant that you do you may well have a claim for compensation.

Under the Statute of Limitations an individual has three years to pursue a claim for personal injuries. This is 3 years from the date of knowledge that you are suffering from noise induced hearing loss. It is therefore vital to seek early legal advice to ensure that your claim does not become statute barred.

Edwards & Company have been dealing with noise induced hearing loss claims for many years and have developed considerable expertise in this area. In general terms a claimant must prove on the balance of probabilities, that the "deafness" complained of was caused by the fault of his/her employers. That primarily means negligence whereby the deafness was caused or contributed to by the employers failure to take reasonable care for the claimant's safety. It must be emphasised that the duty is to take reasonable care - an employer is not under a duty to ensure no employee is injured.

Noise induced hearing loss claims involve complex, difficult and technical issues, nevertheless, following a detailed consultation and once medical evidence is available it is often possible to confirm whether a claim has a reasonable prospect of success.

Awards for noise induced hearing loss and tinnitus have been relatively modest based upon a scale devised to deal with claims arising in industry known as "the Harland & Wolff Scale". Recent cases in the County Court successfully pursued by Edwards & Company have witnessed a shift in this attitude and we are able to report an increase in the level of damages obtained in this type of claim.

Should you require legal advice on this or any other personal injury matter please contact Melanie Jones at Edwards & Company.