How To Make A Hearing Loss Compensation Claim

By Olivia Arndale. Last updated 20th June 2024. Welcome to our hearing loss claims guide. If you have suffered from noise induced hearing loss (NIHL) or tinnitus because of negligence on the part of your employer, or another party, you could be entitled to claim compensation.

Unfortunately, exposure to excessive noise over time at work can cause industrial hearing loss (also known as industrial deafness) or tinnitus. Exposure to a single excessively loud sound, such as an explosion, can cause a type of hearing loss called acoustic shock syndrome.

Legal Expert can provide you with an excellent personal injury solicitor to handle your hearing loss claim. Our solicitors have up to thirty years of experience handling industrial personal injury claims, including claims for hearing loss, and will always push to win you the maximum amount of compensation that you are owed.

To begin your hearing loss claims today, please call Legal Expert today on 0800 073 8804. One of our well informed advisors will speak to you in detail about your ordeal, and if you have the right to claim, we will provide you with an excellent personal injury lawyer to handle your case. We will also let you know how much hearing loss compensation you could be entitled to claim. Alternatively you can use our hearing loss claim form to contact us and we can arrange an alternative means of consulting you.

So, please contact us today to see if you are entitled to claim compensation for your injuries. If you have legitimate grounds to claim for hearing loss, one of our excellent personal injury lawyers will start working on your claim right away.

Select A Section

• What Is Hearing Loss?
• Symptoms Of Hearing Loss
• Causes Of Hearing Loss
• Hearing Loss Claim Time Limits
• Industries Where Your Hearing May Be More At Risk
• Work-Related Hearing Loss Statistics
• When Is An Employer Liable?
• How Do You Prove Hearing Loss?
• What Could My Hearing Loss Claim Include?
• No Win No Fee Hearing Loss Claims
• Why Make A Hearing Loss Claim With Our Team?
• Talk To Legal Expert
• Hearing Loss Support Resources

What Is Hearing Loss?

Hearing loss is when a person experiences partial or complete deafness, or develops a condition such as tinnitus which affects their hearing. Some hearing loss is natural, such as hearing loss bought about by old age. Other types of hearing loss occur because of environmental factors, such as noise-induced hearing loss.

If you wish to make a hearing loss claim for compensation, you will need to prove that your hearing loss was caused by negligence on the part of your employer and not by old age or genetic factors. How do you prove hearing loss? An audiologist will be able to conduct tests to see if your hearing loss is noise-induced, or not. Legal Expert can arrange for you to see a local audiologist for a hearing assessment

Symptoms Of Hearing Loss

Before we look at hearing loss claims, If an individual is suffering from hearing loss they may experience the following symptoms:

• Speech and other sounds may sound muffled.
• It is difficult to hear consonants.
• It may be difficult to understand individual words. This may be worsened if there is a lot of background noise, or the person is in a crowd.

Many people realise they might have hearing loss when they find that they need to turn up the television or radio in order to hear it. Their hearing loss also may cause them to withdraw from social situations, or conversations with others, because of the difficulties in communicating that hearing loss can cause.

Causes Of Hearing Loss

Next in our hearing loss claims guide, let’s look at some common causes of this condition. These causes may create hearing loss in one ear, or both.

• Damage to the inner ear: The cochlea are cells in the inner ear, which can send electrical sound signals to the brain. These can be damaged by aging, or repeated exposure to loud noises, which result in the sound waves not going to the brain. As a result, the person may find they have difficulty picking out words in a situation where there is a lot of background noise. High pitched sounds may also appear to be muffled.
• Build up of ear wax: An Excessive buildup of wax inside the ear may block the ear canal, causing a conduction of sound waves (conductive hearing loss). Unfortunately there isn’t a hearing loss cure but this type of hearing loss can be treated by the removal of earwax by a qualified medical practitioner.
• Abnormal bone growths or tumours in the middle ear can cause hearing loss. So can ear infections.
• A loud blast of noise can rupture the eardrum, reducing your hearing.

Hearing Loss Claim Time Limits

Did you know that hearing loss claims have time limits?

In the UK there is a medical negligence claims limit of 3 years. This means the person has 3 years from the day that they were injured, realised they had been harmed or their injuries were diagnosed to make their claim.

Noise-induced hearing loss usually occurs over time. In some instances, the person does not realise that they have suffered noise induced hearing loss until they experience additional hearing loss brought about by aging, and tests reveal that NIHL has occurred. Exceptions to this rule include instances of acoustic shock syndrome, which is often caused by a single loud blast of noise. Therefore the hearing loss personal injury claims time limit usually begins at the date of knowledge, when the condition is diagnosed.

If you have experienced industrial deafness, acoustic shock syndrome or any other kind of noise-induced hearing loss, you could be entitled to claim compensation. Contact Legal Expert as soon as possible to avoid falling outside the hearing loss claims time limit.

Industries Where Your Hearing May Be More At Risk

At this point in our hearing loss claims guide, let’s look at some industries where workers may be more at risk of this condition.

There are some industries where hearing loss is more common. For example industries where heavy tools and machinery is used. We have listed some industries where cases of hearing loss are more common, below.

• Mining.
• Ship building.
• Car manufacturing.
• Construction.
• Road drilling.
• Engineering.
• Stone cutting and quarrying.
• Steelworks.
• Textiles.

Machinery that can lead to hearing loss, if proper precautions are not taken, includes: saws, drills, grinders, jack hammers, pneumatic tools, looms and weaving machines.

Work-Related Hearing Loss Statistics

Now, let’s look at some statistics relevant to hearing loss claims.

Fortunately incidents of work-related hearing loss have declined in the last ten years. However, despite new regulations introduced in 2005 to help protect workers from noise induced hearing loss, as of the year 2015/6 to 2017/8 an estimated 23,000 people had industrial related hearing loss in the UK. In the year 2017, there were 70 new compensation claims for work related hearing loss.

When Is An Employer Liable?

If you’re thinking about making hearing loss claims, you’ll need to establish who’s liable for your injury first.

As we have already stated, regulations such as the Health And Safety At Work Act of 1974 and Occupier’s Liability Act of 1957, state that employers are responsible for the health and safety of their employees, whilst they are using their premises. This means that they should conduct regular risk assessments to identify health and safety hazards and implement control measures to cancel out or mitigate the risks involved.

The Control Of Noise At Work Regulations of 2005 state that the legal noise limit for the workplace is 80 to 85 decibels. When noise levels exceed this, employers must put control measures in place to protect their employees from noise-induced hearing loss. This can include: supplying providing personal protective equipment (PPE) such as earplugs or noise-cancelling headphones, installing sound barriers to absorb the noise, rotating shifts so that no one is exposed to the machinery too long and where possible using the quietest choice of machinery available.

If an employer fails to adequately protect an employee from noise-induced hearing loss and the employee experiences industrial deafness, tinnitus, or acoustic shock syndrome as a result, the employer could be held liable for their injuries. As a result, the employee could make a hearing loss claim for compensation.

How Do You Prove Hearing Loss?

If you’re thinking of making hearing loss claims, you’ll need to be able to prove your condition.

Many of our clients ask us “how do you prove hearing loss?” An audiologist can conduct tests to prove that your hearing loss was caused by exposure to excessive noise at work, rather than biological factors such as aging. Legal Expert will arrange for you to have a medical assessment with an audiologist in your area.

You will also have to provide evidence that your employer exposed you to illegal levels of noise at work. Your solicitor will be able to investigate and collect evidence on your behalf, such as eyewitness accounts.

What Could My Hearing Loss Claim Include?

If you have suffered noise induced hearing loss because of negligence on the part of your employer, you could be entitled to make hearing loss claims. If you make a successful compensation claim, your hearing loss compensation will be awarded in two parts.

The first part will be general damages which will compensate you for the pain, suffering and loss of amenity that you have experienced as a result of your injuries. The second part will be general damages, which will reimburse you for any expenses you have had, or are likely to have in the future, relating to your hearing loss injuries. Let’s look at what special damages can include, in more detail:

• Medical expenses: This will cover the cost of any medical treatment you may need because of your noise induced hearing loss. This could cover the cost of tinnitus treatment or audiology appointments.
• Hearing equipment expenses: Hearing equipment expenses can include the cost of an implant or hearing aid. If you now rely on an assistance dog your expenses could pay towards the animal’s upkeep.
• Expenses for Home or car adaptations: This will cover the cost of any adaptations you needed to make to your home since your hearing loss, such as an upgraded doorbell, or telephone. Similarly, if you need to make adaptations to your car, your special damages will cover these costs.
• Travel expenses: You claim expenses for the cost of travel to and from and parking at a doctor’s or audiologist appointment.
• Loss of income: Unfortunately people sometimes have to change career or leave work all together because of severe hearing loss. If you have had to take time off work, or go without an income because of your hearing loss injuries, you can claim expenses for these.

Contact Legal Expert today to begin your claim for hearing loss compensation. If you have legitimate grounds to claim compensation for hearing loss, we will provide you with an excellent personal injury lawyer to handle your claim for ear damage.

As well as claiming hearing loss compensation from your current or former employer, you may also be able to receive industrial hearing loss government compensation UK and hearing loss workers compensation benefits from the government. Read Action On Hearing Loss’s guide to Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) today.

No Win No Fee Hearing Loss Claims

If you have suffered hearing loss in one ear, or hearing loss in both ears because of negligence on the part of your employer, you could be entitled to make hearing loss claims. You may wish to make a no win no fee hearing loss claim. A no win no fee claim means that your solicitor will start working on your case without charging you an upfront fee. Instead, you will only have to pay your solicitors fee on the condition that you win your claim. In the unlikely circumstances that you do not win your claim, you will not have to pay us a penny. Ofcourse, at Legal Expert we only handle claims that we know we can win, but many of our clients find that making a no win no fee claim is the less stressful and more affordable option.

If you have experienced work related hearing loss because of negligence on the part of your employer, you could be entitled to make a no win no fee hearing loss claim for compensation. Read our guide to making a no win no fee compensation claim, for more information. Alternatively you can contact us using our online form, or via phone, to learn more about making a no win no fee hearing loss compensation claim.

Why Make A Hearing Loss Claim With Our Team?

Are you interested in getting started on your hearing loss claims?

Legal Expert is a well respected personal injury solicitors firm. Our personal injury lawyers have up to three decades of experience handling personal injury claims, so your compensation claim for hearing loss will be in safe hands. What’s more, our solicitors will always push to win you the maximum amount of compensation that you are entitled to claim.

Talk To Legal Expert

To begin your claim, fill out our hearing loss claim form or call us today for your free personal injury claims consultation.

Hearing loss claims FAQs

Can I get compensated for hearing loss?

Providing that you suffered hearing loss as a result of third-party negligence, you could be entitled to compensation. If they owed you a duty of care which they failed to uphold, you could have grounds to make a claim against them.

How do you prove hearing loss?

Typically, a medical assessment with an independent professional can be undertaken to prove this as part of your claim.

How much compensation do you get for hearing loss?

Personal injury claims vary from case to case. As a result, they are valued on an individual basis, depending upon the severity of each claimant’s suffering. If you’d like a free consultation, get in touch today so we can learn a bit more about your case and estimate how much you could be entitled to.

What damages could I include in a hearing loss claim?

• General damages could be claimed for your hearing loss and any other physical or psychological harm you suffered
• Special damages could be claimed for any financial losses that you experienced, such as a loss of earnings

How do I claim for noise-induced hearing loss?

If you’d like to get a free consultation with one of our specialist advisors, offering legal advice and support, please get in touch with us today. We could tell you whether you have a claim and even estimate how much you could be entitled to. If you have grounds to make a claim, we could even connect you to a personal injury lawyer to handle your case.

Should I have a solicitor?

Although there isn’t a legal requirement to have a solicitor, having one could not only ease the claims process for you but help you secure the maximum compensation for your suffering.

Where can I get a solicitor?

If you’re looking for legal help, please get in touch with us at Legal Expert today. We work with a panel of personal injury lawyers that have over 30 years of experience and always work on a No Win No Fee basis.

How can I get in touch with Legal Expert?

Please see the contact section earlier in our guide where you can find some options on how to get in touch with our time. In the meantime, you can use the chat pop-up on your screen.

Hearing Loss Support Resources

An NHS Guide To Hearing Loss

Action On Hearing Loss

A Guide To Tinnitus Accident Claims – How Much Compensation Can I Claim?

Industrial Deafness Claims – How Much Compensation Can I Claim?

Thanks for reading our hearing loss claims guide.