Losing your hearing will forever affect your life. You may not be able to do the same job and may find social interaction more difficult or awkward. If someone else caused your hearing loss through an accident, you could be entitled to personal injury compensation. This guide about hearing loss claims will show you how.
Key Takeaways In Hearing Loss Claims
- If someone caused an accident that resulted in your hearing loss, you could claim compensation.
- The severity of the hearing loss and how it affected you financially can impact the size of the compensation.
- Your injury could have happened at work, in a public place or even in a road traffic accident.
- There is a general three year time limit to start your claim, although there are exceptions.
- One of our experienced personal injury solicitors can help you on a No Win No Fee basis.
Please read on to learn more about making hearing loss claims for compensation. Alternatively, we invite you to discuss your claim in person now with our dedicated team of advisors. They can assess the strength of your potential claim and take it from there:
- Calling on 0800 073 8804
- Contact us online.
- Use the discussion portal below to get started.
Select A Part of Our Hearing Loss Claim Guide
- What Is Hearing Loss?
- Types Of Hearing Loss
- Making Hearing Loss Claims?
- What Kind Of Accidents Can Cause Loss Of Hearing?
- How Much Compensation Could I Get?
- Why Make Hearing Loss Claims With Legal Expert?
- Learn More
What Is Hearing Loss?
Hearing loss is a diminution in the ability to hear sounds. It can affect one or both ears and can occur suddenly or over a period of time. Elderly people often experience gradual loss of hearing as a normal part of the ageing process. However, there can be other causes, which we explore in the next section.
Types Of Hearing Loss
Apart from natural hearing loss, certain conditions and events can prompt a sudden or gradual loss of hearing that is either mild or severe, temporary or permanent:
Tinnitus
Tinnitus is a condition in which the sufferer experiences buzzing, whistling or humming in the ear, which can become quite loud and persistent. Certain professionals think ageing, certain medications, ear syringing or exposure to persistent loud noise can bring it on. Treatments vary for tinnitus.
Acoustic Shock
Acoustic shock refers to hearing damage caused by a loud background noise. Poor health and safety training or a lack of personal protective equipment in a noisy factory workplace can cause acoustic shock to the ears, as can proximity to sources of very loud sound at a rock concert.
An explosion or collision could cause a significantly loud noise to damage a person’s hearing. If someone else’s negligence causes these types of things, then a claim can potentially be made.
Hearing Loss Caused By Head Injuries
Head trauma and brain injury can cause hearing loss as part of other injuries. For example, a worker could fall from a ladder and hit their head as they fall, suffering either permanent or temporary hearing loss alongside their other injuries.
Making Hearing Loss Claims?
In all hearing loss claims, you must meet the eligibility criteria. These are:
- A duty of care applied.
- The third-party responsible failed to comply with that duty.
- You suffered injuries as a direct consequence.
A duty of care can apply in many daily situations. Here are some examples:
Accidents At Work
Your employer has a duty to take reasonable steps to keep you safe at work under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HASAWA). This can include providing training, personal protective equipment and making sure that work places and equipment are regularly checked and maintained.
Road Traffic Accidents
All road users owe a duty of care to other road users, including pedestrians and cyclists. They must drive or use their vehicles in a way that avoids harm being caused. To meet this duty, they will likely have to follow the relevant rules in the Highway Code and the Road Traffic Act 1988.
Accidents In A Public Place
Those in control of public spaces (those who occupy them) have a duty to take steps to keep visitors reasonably safe under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957. This could involve carrying out frequent inspections of the premises and fixing any issues or hazards in a reasonable time frame.
In general, if you think your hearing loss was caused by an accident that was someone else’s fault, then you can contact us for a free case assessment.
What Are The Symptoms Of Hearing Loss?
Hearing loss can vary greatly from person to person and depending on the severity of the injury. Some commonly experienced symptoms of hearing loss are as follows:
- A reduction in hearing, either gradual or sudden.
- Pain or aching in the ear area.
- Asking people to repeat themselves or needing TV and devices on louder than other people.
- Stress and fatigue from having to concentrate on hearing conversations.
- Withdrawing from situations where you need to listen and losing concentration.
You can read more about hearing loss symptoms and treatments from this NHS resource. You can email or ask the live discussion box any questions you may have at the bottom of this page.
What Kind Of Accidents Can Cause Loss Of Hearing?
- Head injury and brain trauma caused by falling or collision with heavy objects or vehicles.
- Exposure to sudden loud noises like gunshots or explosions.
- Sudden changes in air pressure.
- Frostbite.
- Foreign objects lodged in the ear and cause infection.
Whether you experienced damage to your hearing after an accident at work, as part of a road traffic accident or in a public place, speak to our advisors. They can clarify the grounds for hearing loss claims and answer any questions you might have.
How Do I Prove A Deafness Claim?
If you feel confident that your hearing loss injuries were the result of negligence, your personal injury compensation claim must have evidence to prove it. The following may help support your argument for damages:
- Get duplicates of your medical records, X-rays, scans and the findings of any hearing specialists who treated you.
- Take photographs of your ear injuries or the accident scene that caused it if you can.
- Retain proof of any medications needed.
- Keep defective ear protection like earplugs or other workplace equipment that was supposed to protect you from the sudden loud noise but didn’t.
- Collect the points of contact for any eyewitnesses to the event. The supporting statement these people give might help bolster your claim. If you appoint a solicitor, they can obtain statements from them after the claim has begun, so only their contact details are needed at this time.
- Request CCTV footage, dashcam or helmet cam images that recorded the accident where applicable.
To help you with your ear damage compensation claim one of our solicitors, should you chose to use them, could assist you in gathering the evidence above and anything else that might help strengthen your claim.
Simply connect with the team to chat on the free call number above, start a claim online, or ask the live support window at the bottom of this screen a question.
How Much Compensation Could I Get?
When a personal injury claim has a successful outcome, there can be two groups of loss that make up the total compensation awarded. General damages apply an amount for the physical harm the person endured, in addition to any injury to their psychological well-being. The second type is special damage for financial loss, but let’s look at injury damages in a bit more detail.
To assist the calculation process, those involved with valuing personal injury claims may consult publications like the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This document provides a cross-section of guideline sums for a wide range of commonly encountered injuries.
To demonstrate, we’ve put together a bullet point list below using entries from the JCG that relate to hearing loss in one or both ears. It’s crucial to note that the award sums should be read as guidelines only, as every personal injury claim will have differing factors. Also, the first entry is not taken from the JCG:
Compensation Award Bracket Guidelines
- Multiple forms of injury that are severe, alongside a special damages award made for lost earnings, hearing aids and other medical expenses – Up to £500,000 plus.
- Total deafness and loss of speech – (a) – £133,810 up to £171,680.
- Total deafness – (b) – £110,750 up to £133,810.
- Total hearing loss in one ear – (c) – £38,210 up to £55,570.
- Partial hearing loss and/or tinnitus – (d) – Severe (i) – £36,260 up to £55,570.
- Moderate to severe tinnitus (ii) – £18,180 up to £36,260.
- Mild tinnitus (iii) – £15,370 up to £18,180.
- Mild tinnitus with no other impairment – (iv) – Approximately £14,300.
- Slight or occasional bouts of tinnitus – (v) – £8,890 up to £15,370.
- Accelerated need for, or time-limited periods with a hearing aid – (e) – £6,500 for five years, £11,840 for much longer periods.
Special Damages In Hearing Loss Claims
Alongside general damages, you may also be eligible to claim back the financial consequences of the injuries under special damages. To include a claim for this, you will have to submit documented evidence. You can present:
- Statements and wage slips that show a reduction in your income caused by the injuries.
- Proof of any private medical treatments or hearing aids..
- Receipts for the cost of care provided by others.
- Tickets and receipts for parking, petrol or other travel expenses.
- Proof of prescription charges.
- Proof of the expense of any additional childcare arrangements.
Should your personal injury claim be eligible and you decide to appoint one of our solicitors, they can help to make sure all the financial losses are included in your claim. Contact us to learn more.
Why Make Hearing Loss Claims With Legal Expert?
Our solicitors can bring a wealth of excellent services to the people they act for:
- They collect witness statements and help assemble vital evidence.
- They know how to calculate compensation with much more precision and argue with the other side to get you the maximum compensation settlement.
- They take care of the essential steps involved in compensation claims called pre-action protocols.
- They will present an organised and professional claim on your behalf at all times.
If you’re experiencing an influx of expenses because of your injuries, compensation could be recovered to help with them. So, it can be a good idea to see if a skilled solicitor can handle the claim for you and aim for the maximum amount of compensation you are entitled to.
Why not see if one of our solicitors could take on your case? Get a free claim assessment with one of our advisors right now. If our solicitors are able to accept the claim, they will do so using a variant of the No Win No Fee contract called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). Under an agreement like this, you can typically expect:
- No upfront solicitor’s fees.
- No solicitors fees as the claim goes ahead.
- No fee for completed services performed by the solicitor should the claim not settle in your favour.
- Only a legally limited amount needs to be paid to the solicitors should the claim settle in your favour. This is a percentage amount taken from the overall compensation known as a success fee.
- The cap ensures the individual claiming can access excellent legal representation and keep the majority of their compensation.
Why not take this opportunity to see if you could access excellent legal representation without the financial burden? Simply contact our advisory team about your hearing loss claim today:
- Speak to us on 0800 073 8804
- Contact us online to submit a claim.
- Use the live discussion portal below.
Learn More
In addition to information about making hearing loss claims, you might find these other resources from our website useful:
- This resource explores claims after inadequate protective equipment led to you being harmed.
- Read our guide on medical negligence claims that can involve hearing loss.
- Also, information is available here about a claim as a victim of criminal injury.
External help:
- This resource looks at hearing loss from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
- If you’re worried about your hearing, read about occupational deafness here.
- Also, you can get help from the RNID, the UK charity that supports people with hearing issues.
In conclusion, thank you for reading our guide about hearing loss claims. We hope it clarifies your options. If you need further help with any topic, please call our team at the number above.
