Hearing Loss Diagnosis Treatment: Prove Hearing Damage From Excessive Noise Exposure to Support Your Claim
Hearing loss diagnosis & treatment – find out when you suffer hearing damage from noise exposure; how hearing loss from noise can be diagnosed; why medical assistance with your hearing problems can help claiming compensation; how long you have to commence a claim & when that time period begins.
This article is set out under a number of convenient headings, we recommend following the headings in sequence or use the quick links below take you to the relevant section you might be interested in:
- Hearing Loss Diagnosis Treatment: Prove Hearing Damage From Excessive Noise Exposure to Support Your Claim
- When is hearing damage from noise exposure caused?
- Hearing tests at Specsavers
- SUMMARY – Hearing Loss Diagnosis And Treatment
- FREE Legal Help
When is hearing damage from noise exposure caused?
Hearing damage from noise occurs generally when you work in a noisy workplace. However, it is very common that you will not necessarily appreciate any initial symptoms at that time.
Although, generally your hearing will be damaged at the time of actual exposure.
Younger workers tend to have better hearing
Most workers are younger when excessive noise exposure takes place. A younger personal generally has stronger hearing as a starting point, Therefore, you may not appreciate the reduction of hearing ability and thus that damage has occurred.
However, as you get older your hearing will also deteriorate with age.
Hearing loss from noise combined with age related hearing loss
When hearing loss from noise is coupled with hearing loss from age – your overall hearing will have deteriorated to a low enough level, such that you would typically start to exhibit hearing damage symptoms.
Commencement of hearing damage symptoms
It may be many years after your noisy work has ceased that your symptoms commence. Therefore – it is common that you will not appreciate the cause of the problems nor know what is happening to your hearing.
Seeking medical assistance
You may at this stage contact your GP or search the problem online before contacting your doctor.
Care should be taken how you approach your GP
A statutory limitation period applies to claiming compensation for noise induced hearing loss, which is three years from date of injury or knowledge of injury.
What you say can be included in your medical notes
Be mindful – what you say to GP will generally be recorded on your medical notes.
You have been told by a friend or spoken with a solicitor – following which you decide to see your GP.
Danger of saying you have hearing loss from noise
However, attending with your GP indicating that think your suffer hearing loss from noise can be misleading. It suggests you knew (or presumed) before your attendance that you had hearing loss from noise.
Employer’s solicitor will access your medical notes
If you make a claim – your employer’s solicitor will have access to your GP notes. They would therefore likely argue you knew you had hearing loss from noise prior to the attendance.
The limitation clock may be argued to have already started to tick.
Explain your symptoms only
It is far better to attend your GP explaining only the symptoms you are experiencing. Not to say the acquired knowledge that a friend or solicitor may have given you,
Your GP should put two and two together and thereafter enquire about your work history and noise exposure.
Any entry made by the GP would reflect this.
It could therefore be argued by your solicitor that knowledge did not take place (and so the three year limitation commence) until you first attended with your doctor.
If Your GP Does Not Ask About Past Noise Exposure
If your GP does not ask any questions about noise exposure – you could then volunteer the information as ultimately you are looking at getting diagnosed and treated.
How is hearing damage from noise diagnosed by your doctor?
Diagnosis generally takes place by being sent by your GP to have a hearing test at hospital.
Hearing tests results plotted in a graph
An audiologist will typically do the hearing test. Thereafter – a graph of your hearing test results is produced, known as an audiogram.
ENT specialist interpretation
Your hearing test audiogram is henerally interpreted by an Ear Nose & Throat specialist.
See our hearing test audiogram article, to see both how the hearing test is conducted and how the shape of the audiogram can determine the cause of hearing loss, including whether some hearing loss is as a result of noise exposure.
Hearing tests at Specsavers
Specsavers will often do free hearing tests, which could help establish if you have hearing loss from noise.
Of course – Specsavers are trying to persuade you to buy hearing aids, hence the free test.
The Cost Of Hearing Aids May Form Part Of Your Claim
It is quite possible that the costs of hearing aid could form part of your hearing loss special damages.
However, be careful of the hard sell. Incurring an hearing aid expense at too early a stage might not be recoverable. It could be argued that the cost of hearing aids can be met by the NHS.
Although – your solicitor may argue that NHS hearing aids are not suitable for you,
Why is hearing loss diagnosis & treatment important?
Your solicitor needs medical evidence to help determine that you have suffered hearing damage from noise.
Although – your solicitor will obtain a further medical expert opinion to support your claim. However, this medical expense can only be justified = if you have been diagnosed with hearing loss already.
Your solicitor is not a doctor, so cannot determine hearing loss from noise without evidence.
What if you believe you only have tinnitus?
Tinnitus produced very noticeable symptoms. Therefore, you might believe you are only suffering from Tinnitus. and not more general hearing loss.
However, tinnitus can be one of the symptoms of noise induced hearing loss. Therefore, when you attend with a medical professional who learns about your noisy work history – you will likely have your hearing tested in addition to the tinnitus diagnosis.
Very often, hearing loss from noise as well as tinnitus will be diagnosed.
When does the 3 year statutory limitation to make a claim commence?
You have three years from date of injury or knowledge of injury to commence a claim at court before it is too late to claim.
Defendants (your employer, former employer and the employer liability insurer) will try to argue this started earlier whereas your solicitor will try to prove it started later.
A Defendant would try to assert – this should be when you left the noisy work environment (ceased employment) or at the latest when you first started to experience symptoms.
However, your solicitor would try to argue that limitation should start to run from when you first sought medical assistance with hearing problems or when you were first tested and diagnosed.
Ear Syringing For Wax May Start Limitation Running
You may have presented to your GP with a hearing problem and your GP may just have syringed your ears for wax without discussing your work history noise exposure.
This could mean that the law could interpret that it was reasonable for your to presume that your hearing issues may have come from noise.
Although, it could be argued that you did not have knowledge as there was no suggestion of hearing problems other than wax and the reasonable man’s knowledge was at a later time.
If limitation has expired – can you still get some money?
Yes – even if the limitation period to commence your claim in the courts has expired you may still be entitled to industrial injuries disablement benefit for hearing damage.
If you think you have hearing problems from noise exposure – what should you do?
You should not wait. Contact a specialist solicitor as soon as possible. Seek medical attention to allow both noise induced hearing loss diagnosis and treatment.
Alternatively, have your hearing tested at the local Specsavers.
Remember – be careful how you present your symptoms when attending with your doctor as you do not wish to create the wrong impression as to when you suspected hearing damage from noise.
SUMMARY – Hearing Loss Diagnosis And Treatment
In summary – you have learned the importance of having your hearing loss diagnosed whilst being mindful of limitation. Both to support your claim for compensation, but also to allow treatment to commence.
FREE Legal Help
We offer free legal help and assistance both online and by phone.
You can not only call us direct to discuss your problems, but also ask a question and have your claim assessed. This way – you will be able to make an informed choice as to how best to proceed with a claim.
