What is tinnitus?

For many with industrial deafness, hearing loss is not the only problem they suffer with their ears. Tinnitus is a very common condition, suffered by around 17% of the European and American population, and often accompanies industrial deafness. Read more about types of industrial deafness.

Tinnitus symptoms
Tinnitus is characterised by the subjective hearing of noises without an external cause. Not all tinnitus sufferers hear the same kinds of noises.

Someone with tinnitus may hear one or more of the following sounds:

• whistling

• ringing

• buzzing

• whooshing or rushing

• hissing

These sounds can be heard in a variety of ways. For some people with tinnitus, these noises are constant, whilst for others they come and go in a pulsing manner.

Most noise-induced tinnitus sounds are high pitched, although parallels between the frequency of the industrial deafness and the frequency of the tinnitus are sometimes noted.

The loudness of tinnitus can also vary. It can become quieter and louder, often depending on the level of background noise present and other personal and external factors. Many people find that it becomes louder at night when everything is quiet, although this could be due to fatigue worsening the condition.

What is tinnitus?
There are known to be multiple reasons for the onset of tinnitus, sometimes coinciding with hearing loss and sometimes not. Certain medicines and Meniere's disease are known to result in tinnitus symptoms, although noise-induced hearing loss accounts for the majority of those who suffer the effects of tinnitus.

Unfortunately, science has yet to explain definitively what causes the tinnitus noise and why it so often occurs in those with industrial deafness. A number of theories have been put forward but none have been proven.

One such theory is that when the hair cells in the cochlea are damaged by too much noise, causing hearing loss, the nearby hair cells over-activate to try to make up for the hearing damage. The cells then cause inappropriate signals to be sent to the brain, which is perceived as a whistling or buzzing noise. This may be the reason that tinnitus noises are frequently a similar pitch to that of the hearing loss.

Treating tinnitus
There is no known total cure for tinnitus, although there a number of ways that the effects of tinnitus can be reduced. Those who treat tinnitus and industrial deafness patients find that each case is different and one answer that works for everyone has yet to be discovered.

Masking the tinnitus sound has been found to be a successful aid in reducing the effect tinnitus has on the person's life. Hearing aids that mask low pitched tinnitus through using amplification of environmental noise are found to be useful for many people who have tinnitus at less than 4000 Hz. These are useful for those with both industrial deafness and tinnitus as they can help both types of hearing problem at once.

Masking devices that specifically deal with tinnitus and not hearing loss are also available. Many people with tinnitus who use their device to provide a low level of masking noise find that their hearing improves greatly. These masking devices are found to help around 20 to 30% of those with tinnitus.

Alternative therapies such as acupuncture have not been found to have any effect on tinnitus in an experimental setting, although anecdotally some people do seem to find benefit in this type of treatment.

A drug named Lidocaine has been discovered to make a pronounced difference to those with tinnitus. Unfortunately, the effect's duration only lasts for a matter of a few hours at most and it is usually delivered intravenously, making it unsuitable for lasting relief from tinnitus noise.

Getting industrial deafness and tinnitus compensation
If you have industrial deafness or tinnitus as a result of working in a noisy environment and you believe that your employer could have done more to protect you, you may be able to make a compensation claim. Read about professions at risk.

Our panel of personal injury solicitors are experts in the field of tinnitus and have helped thousands of people in the UK to achieve successful claims against negligent employers. These no win, no fee solicitors have an excellent success rate and are dedicated to getting the maximum compensation possible for your injury. Read more about compensation amounts.

We guarantee that you will not have to pay a penny when you claim tinnitus compensation through YouClaim, whatever the outcome of your case. Our solicitors work on a no win, no fee basis and you will be protected from all legal costs so you don't have to worry about paying anything to anyone.

If you would like to enquire about making a tinnitus compensation claim, please fill out an online claim form, talk to one of our friendly legal advisors on e-chat or, alternatively call 0800 10 757 95.