Deafness - redefining personal injury

Any person who develops industrial deafness as a result of exposure to excessive noise in the workplace will find it to be a very personal injury.

In fact, not only will the sufferer of industrial deafness find it to be a personal injury, they will also find it to be a debilitating social injury.

While, of course, the loss of a limb or a crippling musculoskeletal disorder will also have a social impact, whether through imposing restrictions on a person's mobility that will inhibit their ability to participate in social contexts such as going to a nightclub or playing a game of tennis, or through altering social perceptions of person's physical appearance, such personal injuries will rarely impair basic spoken communication in the way industrial deafness does.

In fact, it is common for a person who suffers industrial deafness to notice the social impact of their deafness before they become aware of the deafness itself. This phenomenon can be extremely damaging to relationships and as such constitutes a personal injury in social sense.

For example, here at YouClaim we frequently resolve industrial deafness compensation claims for men who are diagnosed with deafness only after its symptoms have nearly led to the breakdown of their spousal relationships.

Barry, 56, developed industrial deafness after more than 30 years of working in the construction industry with noisy machinery. His experience is not uncommon:

"Over a two year period, things between my wife and myself seemed to be getting progressively worse.

She was constantly accusing me of not listening to her and, to be frank, after a while I thought she was just nagging.

My daughter complained too and I just accused the pair of them of ganging up on me. Then one day my daughter asked why I always had the television on such a high volume. She asked me if I'd had my hearing tested and suggested that I should.

I resisted and told her not to be silly, but, truth be told, the thought that I'd been losing my hearing had been bugging me for some time but somehow I'd managed to push it to the back of my mind.

When the doctor told me that I'd lost around 60% of my hearing in both ears I was astounded, but then it made sense.

In some ways coming home with the news was the best present I've ever brought my wife. When I told her, she forgave me more than any bunch of flowers I've bought her has helped do.

Even though my hearing will never be the same again, I wear a hearing aid now and Jan and I are happier than we've been in years."

Stories like Barry's are very common among men in the UK. While industrial deafness is not unheard of as a personal injury in women, more men work in industries that are associated with high levels of noise.

This is reflected in the statistics. While up until the age of 40, men and women are equally likely to suffer some form of deafness, after the age of 40 the higher representation of men in the workforces of heavy industries takes its toll.

Industrial deafness may also have more of an effect on sufferers' social relationships with women and children than it does on relationships with men.

This is because hearing loss of higher frequency sounds, such as the voices of women or children, is the kind of hearing loss most frequently consistent with industrial deafness.

So while hearing loss is more prevalent in men than it is in women, plenty of women find that the personal injury has devastating impact on their relationships with the men who suffer it.

Barry's wife, Jan, explains how her husband's industrial deafness made her feel at the time it was still undiagnosed.

"I've always been a battler. When Barry and I made our vows, it really was for life.

But during the period when Barry's hearing loss was undiagnosed, I'd be lying if I said it didn't test the strength of our bond.

Even now I still feel that maybe Barry's pride for a long time prevented him from admitting he might be deaf.

From the moment he came to terms with it and spoke to me about his industrial deafness, I feel that we have been free to rebuild our relationship.

In a simple but profound kind of way, the revelation of his deafness cleared the way for us to start listening to each other again."

Making a no win, no fee personal injury claim for deafness
If you have developed industrial deafness as a result of excessive exposure to noise in your workplace, you may well be able to claim personal injury compensation.

A number of the no win, no fee solicitors on YouClaim's panel are considered to be among the UK's leading experts in industrial deafness litigation.

Their elite services are available to you at, win or lose, absolutely no cost. Also, you can rest assured that we never take a cut of any of our client's compensation awards.

So if you would like to take advantage of the services of our solicitors all of who are governed by the Solicitors Regulation Authority simply call 0800 10 757 95.

Alternatively, you may wish to discuss your claim on e-chat, request we call you back at a time convenient to you or fill out an online claim form.