I have sustained hearing loss due to my employment. What can I do?
Published on September 13, 2023 by Ebony Billett and Lucinda Gunning
If you’ve suffered hearing loss because of working in a noisy environment, you may be entitled to make a hearing loss claim. This article details the industrial deafness claim, including the steps you need to take before lodging a claim.
Carroll & O’Dea Lawyers offers a no obligation phone consultation if you think you have a viable hearing loss claim. During this consultation, we will obtain details of your prior work history.
After this consultation we will then provide you with our advice and provide you with various authorities to sign before proceeding with a claim.
Carroll & O’Dea Lawyers can assist with the lodgement of a claim for industrial deafness on your behalf. This may include an assessment with an ear, nose, and throat (ENT) specialist to confirm that your hearing loss is work-related and that hearing aids are required.
If Carroll & O’Dea Lawyers determines that my claim is viable, what are the next steps I need to take?
- Attend your GP with the results you have obtained from a hearing check. You will need to obtain a Workers Compensation Medical Certificate and complete a Workers Compensation claim form.
- Submit your claim. We recommend having one of our lawyers look over your claim documents prior to submission, to minimise the risk of a decline by the insurer. Once your claim is submitted, your Insurer then has 84 days to determine the liability of your injury, however, they must provide you with a status update within 28 days.
- If liability is accepted, we will arrange an assessment of your whole person impairment (WPI) with an ENT specialist. If you have a binaural hearing loss of 5.1% or higher, which is determined to be work related, you will be entitled to a lump sum of compensation, in addition to your right to claim hearing aids.
If I have had more than one noisy employer, what can I do?
A claim should be submitted against your most recent noisy employer. However, if you have worked for more than one noisy employer within the last 10 years, the liable employer (being the most recent noisy employer), may seek a contribution to assist with paying the compensation to you from the other noisy employer.
What claim can I make?
Claims can be made for: –
- the costs of binaural hearing aids; and
- lump sum compensation for permanent impairment if you have a binaural hearing loss (BHL) of 5.1% or higher.
If I don’t reach the 5.1% Binaural Hearing Loss, what can I do?
If you have been assessed and you don’t reach the 5.1% BHL, Carroll & O’Dea Lawyers may still be able to assist you with a hearing device claim.
If you have severe tinnitus, an adjustment to the BHL % may be made to assist you with exceeding the 5% WPI threshold.
A reasonable test is applied for a hearing loss claim to determine whether the treatment you require is “reasonable and necessary” to improve your quality of life.
We will assess the likely benefit versus the cost and determine that there is going to be a likely improvement in your quality of life if hearing aids are successful in treating your hearing loss.
How long do I have to make a claim?
The time to resolve a claim can vary, depending on what is claimed and the response of the insurer.
The claim can be submitted at any time during your employment but should be submitted no later than 6 months after your employment has ended.
Carroll & O’Dea Lawyers will assist you with your claim on a no win / no fee basis. Please contact COD on 1800 059 278 or visit our Contact Page.
