Noisy workplace
If you have been employed in a noisy workplace and have suffered hearing loss, you may be eligible to make a claim for industrial deafness.
But the issue is that hearing loss occurs over a period of time, and it may be difficult to determine whether your hearing loss actually came from work – there are a number of different causes, such as genetic factors, loud environments outside of work, and even just “presbycusis”, or age-related hearing loss.
This makes it difficult when you can only claim compensation for the hearing loss you sustained from employment.
One test that is used to figure out if it’s worth looking into making a claim, is to ask yourself whether your workplace was noisy enough that you had to raise your voice for someone standing about one metre away to be able to understand you. If you have spent hours in this sort of environment, it is likely that that environment contributed to your hearing loss.
If you had to shout or yell to be able to be heard by a person standing about a metre away, it would take even less time for damage to your hearing to occur.
Examples of noisy environments include construction sites with noisy jackhammers, drills, and other power tools; airport and airline workers; factory workers with noisy machines; steelworkers and boilermakers; automotive mechanics; and many other occupations requiring the use of loud machinery, tools, or engines.
If this applies to you, please contact us so that we may look into your situation further.
If you have not made an industrial deafness claim in the past, or you have worked in a noisy environment since your last industrial deafness claim, it may not matter how long ago you last worked in a noisy environment – you may still be eligible for compensation even if your last noisy employer was thirty, or forty, or even fifty years ago.
Once you get in touch with us, we will arrange for you to be examined by an Ear, Nose, and Throat Specialist (“ENT”), who will conduct an assessment to determine how much of your hearing loss came from working in a noisy environment. We will then make a claim for compensation for your hearing loss on your behalf.
For the majority of our industrial deafness claims, we receive funding from the Workers Compensation Independent Review Office (“WIRO”). This means that you won’t pay a cent of our legal fees, costs, or disbursements – there will be no cost to you for us to run your claim.
We would love to hear from you if you think you have worked in a noisy environment. Please contact Turner Freeman Lawyers on 13 43 63 for more information.