Essential points when making a claim for work-related hearing loss
- Employers have a specific legal duty to monitor noise levels, and to take steps to reduce the risk of workers' hearing being damaged, such as by providing PPE and rotating tasks.
- You can claim compensation if your employer failed to manage noise risks, and your hearing was harmed.
- If your hearing was already at risk, your employer should have taken additional steps to protect you.
- You can claim for hearing loss that happened gradually over many years, and across multiple jobs.
- There is a 3-year time limit to start a claim ,from the date you discovered your hearing loss was work-related.
- Your claim can proceed on a no win, no fee basis.
- Your compensation amount will depend on the level of your hearing loss, and whether your hearing is likely to get worse. Discover how much you could claim with our compensation calculator.
- Compensation will also include the cost of hearing aids, modifications to your home, lost earnings and other financial losses caused by your injury.
If your hearing has been damaged by your working conditions, we can help
Industrial deafness, or noise-induced hearing loss, is a concern among workers in a wide and growing range of industries. From construction sites to manufacturing plants, the constant exposure to loud noise can lead to permanent damage to the ears, resulting in difficulty hearing and communicating.
If you have suffered industrial deafness as a result of your employer's negligence, you could be entitled to make a claim for No Win, No Fee compensation.
You are not alone
Industrial deafness is also known as Occupational Deafness or Noise-Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL).
In 2022/23, the HSE recorded an estimated 11,000 workers with work-related hearing problems, and 85 cases of occupational deafness (hse.gov.uk).
According to the data, the highest rates of industrial deafness occur in the extraction, construction, energy and manufacturing industries.
If you decide to make an industrial deafness claim, your personal injury solicitor will take you through every step of the claims process. Your solicitor will be with you until you win your claim and get the compensation you need to move forward.
How much compensation can I claim for industrial deafness?
Compensation for industrial deafness is determined by:
- the severity of your illness,
- how your illness affects your everyday life and work,
- the financial losses or expenses you've faced because of your illness.
Industrial deafness
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General damages are awarded for pain, suffering and loss of amenity (PSLA). Awards for general damages are set by the Judicial College (judiciary.uk) and published in their guidelines for personal injury awards.
Special damages are for financial losses and expenses you have incurred because of your hearing loss. In addition to paying for loss of earnings (including future anticipated earnings loss), retraining costs, career trajectory impact, special damages can cover any care costs and medical procedures you need, such as hearing aids, regular audiological check-ups and psychological support.
Read more:
A complete list of recoverable losses in a personal injury claim
How is compensation calculated if I have multiple injuries?
Average industrial deafness compensation payouts
The following industrial deafness payouts refer to the Guidelines for the Assessment of General Damages in Personal Injury Cases, 17th Edition by the Judicial College (oup.com).
These tables are used by solicitors or by the courts as a starting point when calculating your compensation.
Please note: these average figures represent general damages only, and do not include any element of special damages (e.g. lost wages).
Hearing loss
Severity | Example | Amount |
---|---|---|
Loss of hearing in one ear | £34,740 to £50,520 | |
Total deafness | £100,680 to £121,650 | |
Total deafness and loss of speech | Deafness at an early age that prevented the development of normal speech | £121,650 to £156,070 |
Total deafness and blindness | Around £448,180 |
Tinnitus & Noise-Induced Hearing Loss
Severity | Example | Amount |
---|---|---|
Slight tinnitus or slight NIHL | Up to £7,780 | |
Slight or occasional tinnitus with slight NIHL | £8,080 to £13,970 | |
Mild tinnitus or mild NIHL | Around £13,000 | |
Mild tinnitus and NIHL | £13,970 to £16,530 | |
Moderate tinnitus and NIHL | £16,530 to £32,960 | |
Severe tinnitus and NIHL | £32,960 to £50,520 |
Am I eligible for industrial deafness compensation?
You are entitled to make an injury claim for industrial deafness, if:
- you were injured in the last 3 years, and;
- another person was to blame, and;
- that person had a legal duty of care to safeguard you from harm.
Use our injury claim calculator to find out if you can claim. Or you can call 0800 376 1001 to speak to a specialist advisor. Find out in minutes if you have a claim.
Is a claim still possible if I was partly responsible for my injury?
Understanding who is legally at fault for an accident often requires navigating through a maze of legal complexities.
Each year, Quittance carries out a survey of potential claimants. In our 2025 Work Injury Claimant Survey, 26.02% of injured workers felt they might be at least partly to blame for their injuries.
You could still be able to claim even if you were partly responsible for your injury or illness. Even if an employee's mistake caused your injury or illness, your employer would usually be liable, so you can still claim compensation.
Read more:
Can I claim if I feel I was partly responsible for my accident?
How long after an industrial deafness diagnosis do I have to start a claim?
In most cases, you have up to 3 years from the date of your accident or injury to start a claim.
If you were injured due to someone else's negligence but didn't realise it at the time, the clock starts ticking from the 'date of knowledge' - the day you become aware of your injury.
The claims process for industrial deafness
Getting a diagnosis
Industrial deafness is known as a 'latency' disease, meaning symptoms often only appear years or decades after the initial exposure or cause. For this reason, people may put the symptoms down to ageing, rather than their previous employment. Key indicators of industrial deafness include:
- Finding it hard to keep up with conversations
- Not being able to hear a conversation where there is background noise
- Struggling to use the telephone
- Having to turn the television volume up high
Establishing industrial deafness is the first step in any industrial disease compensation claim, and a solicitor can help arrange a medical examination to do this. Not only will they assess physical symptoms, but they will also ask questions regarding work history and exposure to noise.
Demonstrating the cause
Inadequate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is a common cause of industrial deafness. The medical report will be a key piece of evidence in determining the cause.
Once a report by a medical expert has been obtained, a solicitor will help establish that a particular employment and noise source was indeed the cause. Example cases include an engineer exposed to excessive noise over a long period of time and a demolition operative subjected to a sudden, extremely loud bang.
The claimant's account of events can be supported by witness accounts as well as documentary evidence from employers.
Establishing legal responsibility
The next step is proving that an employer could have foreseen that industrial deafness or a related condition, such as tinnitus or acoustic shock syndrome, could have occurred. In addition, it must be shown that an employer was legally negligent in protecting the claimant from the noise.
What are my employer's legal duties?
Employers have a legal ‘duty of care' to ensure they keep their employees safe from harm. General provisions for this are made in a number of health and safety laws and regulations, including the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (hse.gov.uk).
For industrial deafness specifically, there are much stricter controls in place than was the case in earlier decades.
The primary piece of legislation is the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 (legislation.gov.uk). The aim of the regulations is to ensure that workers' hearing is protected from excessive noise at work.
In order to comply, employers must carry out a thorough risk assessment of the noise in the work environment and who it affects. They must then put procedures in place to reduce the risks and comply with the law. This includes ensuring adequate controls are adopted to keep noise below or within the legal limit (80-85 decibels) - measures such as:
- Using quieter machinery
- Installing barriers and absorbent materials
- Shortening working periods
- Providing personal protective equipment (PPE) i.e. earplugs
Employers are also required to train staff on the risks, carry out regular monitoring and maintenance and provide health surveillance - monitoring workers' hearing ability.
What affects the process when claiming for industrial deafness?
The circumstances that resulted in your loss of hearing will shape the claims process. Click the icons below for more information.
Can I make a no win, no fee industrial deafness claim?
Yes. With no win, no fee, you can claim industrial deafness compensation without financial risk. If your claim isn't successful, you pay nothing. If you win, you only pay a pre-agreed percentage of your compensation.
Get expert advice now
Interested in talking to an injury specialist about your claim?
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Call 0800 376 1001
or arrange a callbackAuthor:
Chris Salmon, Director
About the author
Chris Salmon is a co-founder and Director of Quittance Injury Claims. Chris has played key roles in the shaping and scaling of a number of legal services brands and is a regular commentator in the legal press.