If you have ever worked in a noisy environment where your employer failed to protect you adequately against the hazard, you may well be entitled to compensation.

Noise exposure cases often often take years to become apparent and the experience of a young worker may not lead to the dignosis of symptoms until many years later. Once a diagnosis of noise induced hearing loss or occupational deafness has been made, a claimant should seek to make a claim within three years.

Each year around 300 new people are registered with the Industrial Injuries Scheme for disablement benefit but much larger numbers - around 74,500 - are recorded as suffering from work-related noise induced hearing impairment in any given year and background numbers (who incorrectly do not associate their deafness with work) may well place the figure much higher.

Occupations particularly badly affected include workers in extraction energy and water supply, manufacturing and construction with a lesser incidence among NCOs and other ranks in the armed forces and labourers in making and processing along with machine tool operatives.

If you have worked in any noisy occupation from 1963 onwards without ear protection and now have hearing difficulties or suffer from noises or ringing in your ears, or have experienced temporary deafness, then you may have a claim for occupational/industrial deafness.

Occupational deafness: a description

Occupational Deafness is a loss or reduction of hearing ability which has been caused by working in a place where there are or were excessive noise levels. It is a recognised industrial disease under the Industrial Injuries Scheme (disease number A10), and is the second most common form of acquired deafness, after ageing.

Assessing the effects of noise levels years ago can be difficult and it may be difficult to obtain proper noise testing leaving your case reliant on medical testimony based on the results of an Audiogram.

An audiogram is a visual representation of your hearing abilities and limitations showing the specific pitches (frequencies) and loudness (intensity) levels that a person can hear with each ear.

However if your problem is in your current workplace tests can be undertaken.

The Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 now place obligations on employers to comply with the following to prevent occupational/industrial deafness:-

• Every employer must ensure a noise assessment is performed where any employee is likely to be exposed to dangerous levels of noise and is at risk of occupational/industrial deafness.

• An employer is under a duty to reduce the risk of occupational/industrial deafness to the lowest level reasonably practicable by muffling the noise, or reducing the period of time spent in a noisy environment.

• Where an employee is likely to be exposed to between 80dBA and 85dBA, hearing protection should be provided if requested by the employee. For employees exposed to 85dBA or more, the employer should provide employees with hearing protection without waiting for a request and they must take all reasonable steps to ensure hearing protection is fully used and occupational/industrial deafness avoided.

• An employer must advise and instruct their work force of the risks of occupational/Industrial deafness from exposure to noise and of the steps that can be taken to reduce that risk. Areas exceeding 85dBA should be identified and marked as ear protection zones and as areas in which ear protection should be worn to reduce the risk of occupational/industrial deafness

The Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 came into force on the 6th April 2006. However, the Regulations do not come into force in the music and entertainment sectors until the 6th April 2008. Instead, for the timebeing, the Noise at Work Regulations 1989 will continue to apply to those sectors. The basic difference between the 1989 Regulations and the new 2005 Regulations, in terms of trying prevent occupational/industrial deafness, is that under the 1989 Regulations, the lower exposure action level at which an employer must provide an employee with hearing protection upon the employees request is 85dBA (as opposed to 80dBA under the 2005 Regulations) and the upper exposure action level at which an employer must ensure all employees wear hearing protection is 90dBA (as opposed to 85dBA under the 2005 Regulations). Nevertheless, for all sectors outside the music and entertainment sectors, the new 2005 Regulations now apply in the fight against occupational/industrial deafness.

In order to know whether noise levels were excessive, they will need to be measured. Sound can be measured in either:

1. Loudness or volume, which is measure in decibels (dB). The louder the sound is, the higher the decibels. For example, a phone ringing has a sound of about 75dB.

2. Pitch of frequency, which is measured in kilo Hertz (kHz). For example, 8 kHz is a high pitched sound and 0.5 kHz is a low-pitched sound.

If you are able to measure the noise level yourself then, as a rough guide, continued exposure to noise levels above 90dB are likely to cause damage to most people’s hearing.

A short exposure to a loud noise could result in Temporary Hearing Loss. You may experience a dullness in your hearing, for example, after an explosion at work. Your hearing should recover, but how long this takes will depend on the loudness of the noise and the length of time you were exposed to it.

Longer exposure to loud noise could result in Permanent Hearing Loss. If your hearing does not recover completely after about 48 hours, then any remaining effect on your hearing is considered to be permanent. Occupational Deafness falls into this category, as the employee would have been regularly exposed to hazardous levels of noise. Continued exposure to the noise will initially worsen the condition, which is why occupational hearing loss sufferers tend to suffer quite substantial damage to their hearing.

Other conditions related to noise exposure at work:

It is not only hearing loss that you may suffer from if there are excessive noise levels at your place of work:

• Tinnitus (ringing or other noises in your head or ears) is a condition that may accompany hearing problems caused by noise.
• Recruitment is the condition where you find it difficult to hear quiet sounds but hear loud sounds only too well. A hearing aid may assist this condition.

Who is at risk from Occupational Deafness?

What is a “critical” (i.e. dangerous) amount of noise will vary from one person to another depending on the person’s age, previous noise exposure or hearing damage and genetic susceptibility. However, certain workers are at a higher risk of hearing damage than others. The following are particularly susceptible to Occupational Deafness:

Workers in the heavy productive industry, such as:

• Metal work
• Drilling and quarrying
• Stone Cutting

Workers who use noisy machinery, such as in:

• Textiles
• Printing
• Wood cutting
• Transportation
• Agriculture
• Road workers

Who can claim?

Anyone who can show that they have suffered damage to their hearing as a result of their employer failing to warn and protect them from excessive noise levels at work, can make a personal injury claim for Occupational Deafness.

You cannot claim, however, if you are deaf as a result of old age or illness.

Is your employer at fault?

Employers have an obligation to comply with the Noise at Work Regulations 1989 and other Health and Safety legislation. This means that they should carry out Risk Assessments to establish whether there is a risk of such hearing damage to the employees. There is also an obligation to provide employees with a safe system of work. This may mean using tools and equipment that generates a lower level of noise or, where this is not possible, providing protective equipment for their employees. Employers should implement a “Policy of Prevention” to reduce the risk of hearing damage to employees. This policy may include:

• Enclosing or segregating noisy machinery so that not all employees are subject to high noise levels.
• Fitting silencers or changing the way machinery is mounted to make it quieter.
• Insulating noisy machinery to reduce the noise levels.
• Providing ear muffs and/or ear plugs. These must be fitted properly in order to be effective. The employer should therefore make sure that ear muffs fit over and around the outer ear, with correct headband tension and avoiding hair or glasses that will impair the seal and therefore the protection. Ear plugs need to be of the appropriate shape (torpedo nose shaped plugs are best) and correctly inserted.

Does your employer have a similar Policy of Prevention in your workplace?

You may also be able to make a benefit claim for your Occupational Deafness under the Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) (part of the Industrial Injuries Scheme). Occupational Deafness is a prescribed disease under the scheme and a sufferer of this may therefore be eligible for such benefit.

Have you ever been in the Armed Forces?

If so, your deafness could be due to your time in the Armed Forces, if you did not have any protective equipment for your ears. There are hazardous noise levels in the Army, for example, an anti-tank firing gun makes a sound of about 186 dB, which is very loud! If you have been exposed to harmful noise during your service (such as gunfire or an explosion) and you have hearing loss, then you may be entitled to a war pension. You should contact the War Pensions Freeline on 0800 169 22 77.