£4,000 Compensation for Hearing Loss

Exposure to high noise levels can cause permanent hearing loss or tinnitus.

A former plant operator recently received £4,000 in compensation for damage to his hearing caused by frequent working in a noisy environment.

Albert Shaw, 72, worked for a construction company, operating noisy machinery. When he first started working for his employer, in 1968, the mobile construction equipment he drove wasn’t fitted with a driver’s cab. Even when these were introduced, Mr Shaw described the noise inside the cab as ‘incredible’.

It wasn’t until 1982 that Mr Shaw and his colleagues were provided with ear protection. Unfortunately, by then the damage to his hearing had already been done.

Like most people who suffer hearing loss over time, Mr Shaw didn’t notice it at first because the process is so gradual. Eventually, his family pointed out to him that he was speaking very loudly on the telephone and had the volume of his television turned up very high. He now finds it difficult to have ordinary conversations and wears headphones to watch television.

Once his ex-employer’s insurance company had been identified, a personal injury claim was commenced and Mr Shaw received £4,000 in compensation for his injury.

The laws on the control of exposure to noise in the workplace have been tightened up over the years. Employers now have a clear duty to comply with the standards laid down by the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005, and to assess and control the risks of environmental noise that cannot be eliminated. Employees who are likely to be exposed to noise must be provided with information and training on the attendant risks and informed of the steps that can be taken to minimise them.

Information on how to spot the early signs of noise induced hearing loss can be found on the website of Deafness Research UK.