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Popular Coronation Street TV actor William Roache, who has spoken to the Press about his 57 years of having only 50% of normal hearing, is unlikely to make a deafness injury claim for the acoustic trauma which resulted from his service with the Royal Welch Fusiliers.
Apart from being out of time for a potential compensation claim because the incident causing his deafness occurred in 1953, he told the Daily Mail in September 2010 he had not regarded his hearing loss as a major problem and had just learned to live with it.
His life in a semi-silent world started when he was on a training course using three-inch mortar bombs, one of which did not immediately go off and when it did Mr Roache's head received the full blast, stretching his ear drums and making him totally deaf for two weeks.
When his hearing partly returned, he did not realise his ears had been permanently damaged so did not report the medical problem and seek treatment or compensation.
He said the deafness had not affected his subsequent acting career, although he has always struggled to make out conversation when there is a lot of background noise. He has relied on hand signals from fellow actors to make sure he did not miss his cues.
By coincidence, in 2009 the on-screen girlfriend of his character Ken Barlow, Martha Fraser, was played by Stephanie Beacham, who is completely deaf in one ear and partially deaf in the other since birth after her mother contracted chickenpox during pregnancy.
Unless Miss Beacham's mother was subject to medical negligence, she is unlikely to have had any grounds for claiming damages for suffering as a result of her deafness, but Mr Roache would almost certainly have been able to make a deafness injury claim against the Ministry of Defence if he was a 21-year-old trainee soldier today whose health and safety had not been protected by his supervisors.
Not only does the veteran actor suffer from hearing loss, as with many deaf people, he has tinnitus, which he has also learned to live with and, although he has previously had difficulties with using hearing aids, now has the latest digital receiver in the canal (RIC) aid, enabling him to hear conversations more easily.
Help with making a deafness injury claim
Even a slight reduction in hearing can cause misery and social isolation to the sufferer who is unable to enjoy normal experiences such as going to a pub or a party and visiting the theatre or cinema but if the problem is as a result of the actions or neglect of someone else, it may be possible to bring a deafness injury claim.
A justified compensation payment could enable you to buy the most sophisticated hearing aids available and, if your deafness has led to a loss of earnings, this could also help with financial difficulties.
Anyone who has become deaf through being in the Services has redress through the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme and YouClaim's experienced solicitors have helped many men and women gain pay-outs through this scheme.
Our personal injury lawyers, who can also help with deafness caused by medical negligence and through work-related accident or illness, can advise and represent claimants anywhere in the UK.
Their sympathetic attitude, coupled with high professional standards, monitored by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, mean you and your case will be in safe hands.
To contact YouClaim about a deafness injury claim, you do not need to use our telephone service available on 0800 10 757 95 but can communicate in writing through echat or complete an online claim inquiry form.
