Employers have specific legal duties around workplace noise: assessing noise exposure, providing hearing protection where needed, and monitoring employees' hearing over time in higher-risk roles. These duties have existed in various forms for decades, so a claim isn't limited to recent employment, it can relate to noise exposure from years, sometimes decades, ago.
Because the condition develops gradually, it's genuinely common for people not to realise the extent of the damage until it's raised by a hearing test, often long after leaving the job that caused it.
What kinds of industrial deafness claim do we handle?
Noise-induced hearing loss
From sustained exposure to loud machinery or environments.
Tinnitus
Ringing or noise in the ears caused by workplace noise.
Claims relating to employment from years or decades ago
Including former employers.
Cases where hearing protection wasn't provided or wasn't enforced
Providing protection is not enough on its own. Its use has to be enforced.
Cases involving multiple employers
Where exposure built up across more than one job.
What if I was partly at fault?
Partial responsibility can be relevant, for example where protection was provided but not consistently worn, but an employer's duty includes making sure protection is actually used, not just made available.
What you could receive
Industrial deafness claims cover general damages for the hearing loss and its effect on your life, including tinnitus, and special damages for financial losses, including the cost of hearing aids not provided through the NHS.
We'll talk you through what's realistic for your situation once we've reviewed the details. We won't overpromise, and we won't quote a figure before we've properly understood your case.