Hearing Awareness Week (20th to 26th August 2017) focuses on the fragility of hearing and the ways in which we can protect our hearing. The purpose of the Hearing Awareness Week is to eliminate the stigmas associated with hearing loss and to make aware the associated health impacts hearing loss can have on an individual. Deafness or hearing impairment will impact on an individual’s quality of life, therefore with the breakthrough in various hearing aid technologies this impact can be reduced.
The ‘invisible disability’
Hearing impairment is often viewed as an ‘invisible disability’. This is because hearing loss often leads to isolation due to the reduction of communication an individual has access to. As technology has advanced so have the laws in which you may be able to seek remedy by way of hearing aids and/or compensation for hearing loss you may have sustained within the workplace.
People often wait years in order to seek help for the hearing loss they have sustained throughout their life. This more often than not can be a result of exposure to noisy work environments, which in turn has caused industrial deafness. The higher frequencies within these workplaces often force these workers to increase television volume, difficulty in hearing in large open spaces and talking on the telephone.
The Workers Compensation legislation allows workers suffering a hearing loss, hearings aids and sometimes compensation can potentially be sought for such impairment. The number of Australians who are hearing impaired due to workplace conditions is increasing. Here at Turner Freeman Lawyers we have a variety of clients whom have had successful outcomes through the investigation and success with such matters.
To find out more information about hearing loss / industrial deafness, you can listen to this week’s 2GB podcast presented by Gaius Whiffin here.
If you are finding that you are shouting to communicate with family, friends or work colleagues in close proximity, this is an indication you may be suffering a hearing impairment. To discuss potential entitlements please contact Turner Freeman Lawyers on 13 43 63 to arrange a free consultation today.