industrialdeafness.net

Loud and noisy environments can be uncomfortable for many of us but to be constantly exposed to high noise levels in work place conditions and with insufficient ear protection does lead to eventual noise induced hearing loss.

It is common to hear nowadays of employees to be exposed to incredulous sounds years ago but since the laws and regulations surrounding noise levels at work are constantly working to clampdown on exposure to excessive noise levels at work industries are now looking more at protecting their employees from damage that can arise to the auditory and irreparable hearing damage.

Over long periods of time when exposed to high noise levels the ears can experience a gradual and permanent hear loss known as noise induced hearing loss. The auditory gets damaged in that the sensory sells become damaged and dysfunctional and incapable of converting electrical signals and therefore becomes unable to send correct messages to the brain. This can cause for the auditory function to be lost and so the noise induced hearing loss will become apparent in the sufferer.

If we consider that the current acceptable noise level in a work place is 90decibels then we can get a rough idea of what level of noise that is by measuring it against the 85decibels of common city traffic. Anything above 85decibels on a regular time basis is where the damage to the hearing will become apparent. It is at this point when the hearing loss becomes noise induced hearing loss.

Although in most cases the hearing loss has been bought about through extensive exposure to high noisy work environments there are many who may have self- inflicted their noise induced hearing loss through their lifestyle choices, such as excessive rock band and raves and nightclubs where the auditory system may have found it difficult to with stand such high noise levels and hearing loss could have resulted. Other scenarios where hearing loss could result are gun shooting or firearms events, snowmobile riding or even hunting if done regularly enough.

Once present in a sufferer the hearing loss which has been induced by noise levels may become permanent and stay with the sufferer.

It is also commonplace within sufferers of noise induced hearing loss to also display symptoms of tinnitus. That being that they will have the additional persistent whistling, humming or ringing sound in their ears. For some they have reported that the ringing sounds as though it is an actual sound and tinnitus sufferers have expressed that they have been initially thought that the sound was an electrical appliance or an external sound. This symptom normally finds itself present in sufferers of hearing loss to add to their misery.

It is possible to estimate the damage that can be bought about from levels of noise and lengths of exposure to the high levels by the hearing loss sufferer and find a correlation.

 A recent breakthrough court case from a noise induced hearing loss sufferer who was exposed to high noise levels exceeding 85decibels used a case of 7 knitters to demonstrate the effects of noise levels on hearing damage. The knitters were exposed to levels over 85decibels for long periods of time. We can roughly imagine what it would feel like being exposed to levels exceeding the set 90decibels on a daily basis if we compare the level to noise levels to which we are familiar. A motorbike may induce noise levels of anything up to 120decibels whereas a small firearm could produce any amount of noise level up to 150decibels. When compared to the level of ordinary city traffic being around 85decibels we can get some picture of the levels of noise required to cause noise induced hearing loss.

WHOS RESPONSIBILITY IS IT?

Once you have established that you may have developed noise induced hearing loss not only will it  become  important to you to find some-one to point the finger of blame at but you will wish to seek liability for your auditory injury from your employer, if indeed they were the contributing factor undermining your resulting in noise induced hearing loss.

Responsibility and liability for your hearing loss will be addressed in your industrial deafness claim which will follow your established loss of hearing., In the case that it was the cause of being exposed to long hours of high excessive noise levels in any working environment the liability will lie with your employer, particularly in cases where the employers simply failed to acknowledge the need for protecting their employees against the high noise levels or simply failed them with insufficient or non- effective protection. In this case the failure to provide sufficient protection will have contributed to the noise induced hearing loss directly.

In any instance it is advisable to take responsibility and look to protecting your own hearing from excessive noise levels to limit potential risk to noise induced hearing loss, whether whilst self- exposing oneself to the noise in a past time or hobby or whether the noise levels are present in a work environment.

Actions one could take to limit damage done to their auditory could include:

• Being aware of and knowing your noise levels. Know when you are being exposed to noises over 85decibels.
• When and where suitable protect your ears with correct ear plugs and ear muffs.
• Be alert to sudden and hazardous noises in the environment which may pose risk to the hearing.
• If in doubt and you suspect that you may have some form of noise induced hearing loss you must consider a visit to the specialists, either an audiologist, who will assess your hearing loss, and an otolaryngologist who will specialise in ear conditions amongst others.

Once diagnosed it is adamant that you look to find a reputable claims handling specialist who specialise in noise induced hearing loss claims and who will present your claim professionally to enable you to claim for financial compensation for the hearing loss that you have suffered.

If you have serious severe hearing loss or even lesser minor hearing loss then it is vital that you submit your claim for compensation which will allow you to gain back some freedom and some financial independence which you may have lost since you incurred the hearing loss or deafness.

In any case any amount of financial compensation will be useful when you consider that many sufferers who lose their hearing completely will have to contend to adapting their entire life styles which will no doubt come with added financial pressures as does any serious loss of sense.

And as is the case of all other work related illnesses, you would be protecting your legal rights when you do pursuit a claim for your noise induced hearing loss.