Massachusetts workers' compensation: job-related hearing loss

May 11, 2013

Loss of hearing is the most frequent U.S. occupational injury, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC also reports that about $242 million is paid out every year in workers' comp benefits nationally to people with work-related hearing impairments. And the Occupational Safety and Health Administration says that about 30 million U.S. workers are subjected to "hazardous noise" annually.

Hearing loss is usually permanent; once it is gone, it doesn't come back later. The condition may be characterized by the inability to hear sounds under normal circumstances or by ringing in the ears, called tinnitus.

Other losses that come from hearing impairment

Hearing loss by its very nature has a negative impact on the social part of life. It may be harder to hear in a crowd and easier to just stay home rather than struggle through a social occasion. Figuring out what people are saying can be extremely difficult and it can get old continually having to ask people to repeat themselves or talk louder. Naturally, for some people, this can cause depression or impact self-esteem.

Work-induced hearing loss

Employers are responsible for worker safety, including controlling noise levels and providing protective equipment such as earmuffs or earplugs. Often hearing loss can be prevented with proper equipment and modification of the business environments. Sometimes safety practices to reduce the risk of hearing injury are required by state or federal laws and regulations. For example, OSHA requires very specific workplace noise limits. The federal government recommends that employers implement hearing loss prevention programs when appropriate for the work environment.

Employers can physically reduce noise risks by modifying or replacing loud equipment and by placing barriers between people and the sources of noise. Employee warnings and training can also be important. For hearing losses caused by exposure to certain chemicals and metals, careful handling and control of such compounds can be crucial.

According to the National Occupational Research Agenda or NORA, the manufacturing industry employs about 13 percent of U.S. workers and the top work-related injury in manufacturing is hearing loss, with one out of every nine recorded illnesses falling into that category. The agency feels that the actual numbers of workers with hearing injury in manufacturing are higher, since hearing loss is not counted in the statistic under a certain level of severity.

Other types of jobs in noisy, potentially harmful environments include farming, construction, mining, transportation and more.

NORA also clarifies that most occupational hearing loss is so gradual that those facing it may not be aware in the early stages. Further, the rate of loss is fastest in the first decade of industrial exposure to loud noise. However, sometimes an instant hearing loss can happen in a "traumatic noise exposure."

Massachusetts workers' comp claims for hearing loss

In Massachusetts, anyone who has suffered hearing injury because of work should file a claim for workers' compensation. Vocationally related hearing loss will likely qualify a claimant for regular benefits like medical expenses and wage replacement, but Massachusetts also provides an additional one-time specific compensation payout for the loss of hearing in either one or both ears.

Seek legal counsel

Because it can be sometimes hard to prove that a hearing loss was caused by employment and to establish a date of injury, it is important to discuss this type of workers' comp claim with an experienced Massachusetts workers' comp attorney with specific experience with hearing loss cases.

Article provided by Percy Law Group, PC
Visit us at www.injuryattorneysma.com