Search site
Our People
Contact our offices
Make an enquiry
How can we help?
Noise is one of the greatest but least understood risks at work. Manufacturing and construction workers are particularly at risk from noise related problems like deafness and tinnitus but almost all workplace environments can pose a potential health threat.
Employees can suffer from acoustic trauma following a single episode of unprotected exposure to noise at work, such as explosives being detonated, but most noise induced hearing loss cases involve a period of prolonged exposure.
If you think work is to blame for your hearing problems, you should seek legal advice. You may be able to claim the costs of a hearing aid from a former employer, for example, and you may be entitled to compensation for noise induced hearing loss or tinnitus or both. Call our specialist solicitors on 0203 816 0065 for free initial advice.
According to the HSE, around 170,000 people in the UK suffer from deafness, tinnitus or other ear problems as a result of exposure to excessive noise at work. In addition, it’s estimated that more than a million employees in the UK are still being regularly exposed to potentially damaging noise levels in the workplace.
What is my injury compensation claim worth?
Try our interactive personal injury claims calculator using the link below to find out how much compensation you may be entitled after an accident which resulted in injury.
Your employer has a duty to provide a safe working environment. However, until recently, many employers have failed to fully appreciate the medical problems associated with noise. Nor have they taken sufficient steps to prevent workers from being exposed to it.
As a result, many employees have suffered problems of deafness and tinnitus.
Whilst the damage is inflicted in the workplace, the symptoms of noise induced hearing loss are often not noticeable until combined with age-related issues several years later. It may be that medical experts advise you would benefit from wearing hearing aids a lot earlier than would otherwise have been the case.
The loss of hearing that results from workplace noise can have a profound effect on the quality of your work, social and family life. Not being able to hear someone properly when there is background noise or even being able to hear the television, the telephone or doorbell ringing. Not being able to enjoy conversations for fear of having to ask people to repeat themselves again and again. Some sufferers even find themselves avoiding social events for the same reasons.
Deafness is made even worse for some people by tinnitus. The continuous ringing and buzzing they hear in the ears or at odd times, can be very disturbing especially if it affects their sleep. In summary, deafness deprives many sufferers from enjoying a normal and healthy life.
loading staff
Your risk of hearing loss will depend on how loud the noise is and how long you are exposed to it. If you answer ‘yes’ to some or all of the following, workplace noise could be affecting your health:
Once it has occurred, hearing loss is unfortunately permanent. If anything, it is likely to deteriorate further over time. However, there are many steps you can take to protect yourself from noise in the workplace. These include wearing ear protection, asking your employer to move you away from noisy machinery or at least give you breaks from it, and ensuring you undertake regular hearing tests.
Click the link to sign up and receive future newsletters straight to your inbox: Sign up
We're widely accredited for our work - personal injury
It is our business to deliver legal services that work for our clients, you can trust our specialists to take care of things on your behalf. Over the years our personal injury team has been recognised by industry awards and accredited for their excellence.
Based on count 551
We're Great
It is our business to deliver legal services that work for our clients, and you can trust our specialists to take care of things on your behalf.
Stephensons were amazing, they took me through the whole case step by step and kept me updated all the time. I'm so happy it's over now and the case is closed thanks to the team. I could not thank you guys enough.
View from a personal injury client
Cervical screening (a smear test) is the best protection against cervical cancer. It detects cell changes which, if untreated, could go on to develop into cancer. About 1 in 20 people will have an abnormal result after a cervical screening - which...
Personal Injury Twitter Block
Stephensons has announced its most recent round of senior associate appointments across its regulatory , clinical negligence , personal injury and employment teams. The four solicitors have shown a strong commitment to both the firm and their area...
We're always here for you
As an award-winning top 150 law firm, with over 450 staff based in offices across the country, you're never far from the advice you need.
Find your nearest Stephensons office and arrange a meeting
As an award-winning top 150 law firm, with over 450 staff based in offices across the country, you're never far from the advice you need.
