NOISE – INDUCED DEAFNESS

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What is it?

It is damage to hearing caused by prolonged exposure to high levels of noise. Hearing may also be damaged by a single noise of great intensity, such as an explosion or the noise from a high revving jet engine.

Generally, damage to hearing occurs from prolonged exposure to noise levels in excess of 90 decibels.

The damage might take many years to become serious, or can happen more quickly. Many people first notice it only when their family complain about loudness of the television, they cannot keep up with conversations in a group, or they have trouble using the telephone. The severity of the deafness and the rate at which the severity increases depends on the level and duration of the noise exposure.

Symptoms

High pitched sounds are most affected so everything sounds muffled. Those affected by the condition find it difficult to catch the hard consonants like “T” and “D”, and also the sibilants “S” and “F” so words often become muddled.

However, hearing loss is not the only problem. Tinnitus (ringing/buzzing sound in the ears) may also be present. It can be temporary after a spell in a noisy place, but with noise damaged ears it can become permanent. Some people find this condition more distressing than the hearing loss itself.

Causes

Some occupations which are most frequently associated with the risk of damage to hearing are those involving the use of, or work wholly or mainly in the immediate vicinity of, the following tools:-

• Ban saw, circular saw or cutting discs
• Pneumatic percussive tools to drill rock in a quarry, on stone in a quarry works, underground, for mining coal, for sinking a shaft, or for tunnelling in civil engineering works
• Circular saw to cut concrete masonry blocks
• Machine in the manufacture of textiles for weaving manmade or natural fibres, high speed false twisting of fibres, or the mechanical cleaning of bobbins
• Multi-cutter moulding machine on wood, planing machine on wood, automatic or semi-automatic lathe on wood, high speed routing machine, banding machine on wood etc.
• Spinning machine using compressed air to produce glass wool or mineral wool
• Firearm by a police firearms training officer
• Shot-blaster to carry abrasives in air for cleaning
• Pneumatic tools such as road braker, jack hammer etc. in the construction/demolition industry

The Law

Employers have a legal duty to protect the hearing of their employees from excessive noise levels.

Generally, a Claimant should be able to establish a breach of common law duty where, due to the shortcomings of his employer, he has been exposed to noise levels in excess of 90 decibels or energy – equivalent averaged over an 8 hour period.

The employers duties are further defined by the following Acts/Regulations:-

• The Factories Acts of 1959 and 1961
• Woodwork and Machinery Regulations 1974
• Noise at Work Regulations 1989
• Workplace (Health Safety & Welfare) Regulations 1992
• The Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005

The last two sets of Regulations impose a general duty upon an employer to reduce the risk of damage to hearing from exposure to noise to the lowest level reasonably practicable.

Case Studies

Case Study 1

The Claimant was aged between 24 – 48 during the period of exposure to high levels of noise at work. He sustained bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus. He also suffered permanent and constant tinnitus which made it difficult to sleep and to concentrate during normal conversation. He also suffered occasional headaches. He was awarded £12,500 compensation for pain and suffering.

Case Study 2

The Claimant was employed for 30 years until 1992 as a driver of heavy plant in quarrying operations and during that period was exposed to excessive noise levels. He developed tinnitus which had become constant and was getting louder, reaching its most severe intensity some five years after it began. This caused him to develop a significant depressive illness which eventually caused him to give up his pre-accident work. His chances of finding employment whilst suffering significant depression and tinnitus were negligible. He was awarded £79,500 by the court.

Case Study 3

The Claimant suffered high frequency hearing loss in both ears as a result of exposure to loud noise whilst working in a factory. At trial he could follow conversation in a quiet one-to-one situation but noticed difficulty when there was any competing background noise. His hearing loss was permanent and was expected to deteriorate slowly with age. The court awarded him £6,500 compensation.