Hearing is important. It allows us to communicate, socialize, and enjoy our life. When you lose your hearing, many things change.
According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), roughly 22 million U.S. workers are exposed to hazardous noise levels in the workplace. And more than 30 million U.S. workers are exposed to chemicals, some of which may harm the ear and therefore hearing. This makes occupational hearing loss one of the most common work-related injuries in Virginia and across the country. And distracted ringing in the ears, also called tinnitus, often accompanies hearing loss and makes it difficult to complete work tasks.
This article provides an overview of workers’ compensation hearing loss cases in Virginia and how you can maximize the value of your work injury settlement. Many employees do not realize that hearing loss may be covered under the Workers’ Compensation Act, but it is. And workers compensation attorney Corey Pollard can help you get all the workman’s comp benefits you deserve. Call now for a free consultation: 804-251-1620 or 757-810-5614.
Hearing loss has many causes. It may be caused by a mechanical problem in the middle ear or external ear canal that blocks the conduction of sound. This is known as conductive hearing loss. Or it may be caused by damage to the sensory structures of the inner ear, auditory nerve, or auditory nerve pathways. This is known as sensorineural hearing loss.
Noise Exposure at Work
The most common cause of occupation-related hearing loss is noise exposure, which destroys the hair cells in the inner ear. Long-term exposure, or even brief exposure, to loud noises can cause damage to your hearing.
The loudness and duration of the noise exposure may determine the extent of hearing loss. The louder the noise, the less time it takes to suffer permanent damage to your hearing.
Individuals whose job puts them around highly amplified music, power tools, powered vehicles, explosions, gunfire, and heavy machinery are at risk of suffering work-related hearing loss. A 2016 NIOSH study found that employees in the construction, manufacturing, and mining sectors had the highest prevalence of hearing loss.
Work-Related Hearing Loss Caused by Ototoxic Chemical Exposure
Employees are at risk of chemically-induced hearing loss. Certain chemical compounds, including organic solvents, heavy metals, and carbon monoxide, can cause hearing loss when inhaled, ingested, or put in contact with the skin. Chemical exposure can harm the inner ear or the auditory nerve.
Head Trauma
A work-related head trauma or brain injury can also cause hearing loss.
Many employees may not realize that hearing loss is covered under the Workers’ Compensation Act. But even those that do may not realize that proving your hearing loss is related to your occupation is difficult.
Under Virginia workers’ compensation, hearing loss is considered an ordinary disease of life, not an occupational disease. The General Assembly made this determination because hearing loss is suffered by much of the general population for a number of reasons, including but not limited to noise exposure both on and off the job, aging, and infection.
This does not mean, however, that an employee is barred from receiving workers’ comp benefits for occupational hearing loss. Rather, it means that an employee suffering from hearing loss has a higher burden of proof to obtain workers’ comp benefits.
Specifically, an employee must prove by clear and convincing evidence, not a mere probability, that his or her hearing loss:
The complete absence of other possible contributing causes, such as listening to music, is not required to obtain workers’ compensation for hearing loss. Rather, an employee with hearing damage must obtain medical evidence that determines his or her occupation is the primary source of the hearing loss.
For example, the Commission awarded workers’ compensation for hearing loss when an employee showed that his hearing loss was related to his continuous exposure to loud banging and clanging in the building where he worked.
Because it is a covered occupational disease, employees with hearing loss may obtain different types of workers’ compensation benefits. These benefits include: temporary total disability payments for time out of work while obtaining treatment or if your restrictions prevent you from returning to your pre-injury employment; temporary partial disability benefits for wage loss attributed to your hearing loss; a lifetime medical award for treatment related to your hearing damage; and, even a potential workers compensation hearing loss settlement.
Permanent partial disability benefits are also available for hearing loss in Virginia.
To determine permanent partial disability benefits for work-related hearing loss, the Workers’ Compensation Commission uses the Hearing Loss Determination Chart found in Rule 12 of the Rules of the Workers’ Compensation Commission.
All determinations are made without the use of a hearing aid with the use of a pure-tone audiometer by air conduction.
Hearing loss in decibels is recorded at 500, 1000, 2000, and 3000 cycles per second. The average decibel loss is translated into a percentage of compensable hearing loss of each ear.
The permanent total loss of hearing of an ear is worth 50 weeks of compensation based on your pre-injury average weekly wage. The Virginia Workers’ Compensation Act does not provide compensation for hearing loss less than 27 decibels.
If you feel that you have work-related hearing loss, please call or email us today. You must act quickly. The statute of limitations for hearing loss claims depends on whether you are filing a claim based on an injury by accident, such as hearing loss due to an explosion or gunshot, or occupational disease, such as hearing loss due to industrial exposure over time.
If your claim is successful, you may be entitled to up to 100 weeks of workers’ compensation benefits and lifetime medical care.
Call now. Corey Pollard is here to help you negotiate a workers comp hearing loss settlement in Virginia. We’ll work with your doctors and health care providers to build your hearing loss claim.