Hearing Loss: What Are My Rights?

Hearing LossEveryone reacts differently when it comes to a change in their ability to hear. The emotional response can lead to anger and vulnerability. Knowing your rights if you suffer from any form of hearing loss can help you when it comes to making a case for hearing loss compensation.

There are practical steps that you should take that will not only help you understand the causes of what’s happening with your hearing but also let you know how likely your case is for hearing loss claims. The earlier that you address your hearing loss, the easier the problems can be tackled, and knowing your rights will be the key to living with your hearing issues.

Medical Treatment

Your first step once you have identified an issue with your hearing should be to seek professional treatment. Take a hearing test, and make sure that it is in person. There are a variety of online hearing tests available, but these are unreliable and should only be used to clarify that you have an issue. Professional medical treatment will make any hearing loss claims easier to resolve.

Workplace Hearing Loss

There are some work roles that are more vulnerable to the risks of hearing loss. These roles are often consistently loud work environments, and include:

  • Sound engineers
  • Mining
  • Shipyards
  • Construction

However, nightclub workers and other roles that tend to take place in environments that are loud can cause hearing damage. If your workplace has affected your hearing, then you will have three years to make your hearing loss claim.

Date of Knowledge

This is a term that covers most medical compensation claims. The Date of Knowledge will usually be three years after the date that you were exposed to the noise that caused your hearing loss, although there are factors that may be taken into account if you have taken longer than three years to make your hearing loss claims. Date of Knowledge can also be counted as the date on which you discover that you have a hearing impairment.

Employer Liability

All employers have a duty of care, and that covers the volume of noise that workers are exposed to. Health and Safety legislation sets clear guidelines and rules for noise volume under the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005. This piece of legislation was designed to protect the hearing health of employees. If your employer has not conducted a thorough assessment of noise volume in your workplace then you will be able to make a claim for hearing loss compensation. The measures that employers must take in loud work environments must include:

  • The installation of sound barriers
  • The use of materials that will absorb sound
  • Shorter work time exposure to loud working environments
  • The provision of protective equipment for those employees that work consistently or intermittently in loud

If your employer has not adopted these measure, then you may be entitled to apply for hearing loss compensation.

There are clear legal rights that are in place to protect the hearing of employees. If you feel that you have suffered from hearing loss as a result of workplace flaws, then you should contact a legal team as quickly as possible. The quicker that you take action, the easier hearing loss claims will be. Hearing loss can be stressful, and any financial compensation that you receive could help to pay medical expenses or remove the pressures caused by your hearing issues.