Exposure to excessively loud sounds can damage structures and nerve fibers in the inner ear and cause hearing loss. This type of hearing loss is known as noise-induced hearing loss. It cannot be medically or surgically corrected.
Noise-induced hearing loss may be the result of a single exposure to a very loud sound or an explosion or from exposure to elevated noise levels over an extended period. If you have suffered hearing loss because of repeated exposure to loud noise as part of your job, you may qualify for workers’ compensation benefits. In addition to payments for being unable to work, Kentucky’s workers’ compensation program pays stipends for certain occupational disabilities, including hearing loss.
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) says about 22 million workers are exposed to hazardous noise each year, and about 24% of the hearing difficulty among U.S. workers is caused by occupational exposures. Is your hearing loss a result of occupational exposure to noise? Call an experienced Kentucky workers’ compensation attorney to discuss the benefits available to you.
We Handle Noise-induced Hearing Loss Claims
If you suffer from hearing loss due to exposure to noise arising out of your employment, the Kentucky workers’ compensation system may owe you benefits. Hearing loss is common among Kentucky factory and warehouse workers and others in noisy jobs, especially those who have worked for years in noisy workplaces. But hearing loss claims can be complicated to pursue.
It takes courage to fight the KY workers’ compensation bureaucracy for benefits as you deal with a debilitating work injury. Let an experienced workers’ compensation lawyer at Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer provide the Kentucky Courage needed to pursue your noise-induced hearing loss claim. Our attorneys have helped many Kentuckians successfully pursue workers’ compensation benefits. Contact us today to set up your free consultation with a workers’ comp attorney.
How To Determine if You Are Eligible for A Noise-Induced Hearing Loss Claim?
Workers’ compensation is a no-fault insurance program that pays benefits to most Kentucky employees if they have suffered an injury or illness caused by their job duties or working conditions.
Many jobs and occupations require workers to work in noisy environments. They include:
- Construction and demolition work
- Mining
- Manufacturing and factory work
- Agriculture and forestry
- Airport jobs
- Bus drivers
- Workers in nightclubs, arenas, stadiums
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires employers to provide ear protection and take other reasonable precautions when noise exposure is at or above 85 decibels (dB) averaged over 8 working hours. If you need to raise your voice to speak to someone 3 feet away in your workplace, noise levels might be over 85 dB.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says noise above 70 dB over a prolonged period of time may start to damage your hearing. Loud noise above 120 dB can cause immediate harm to your ears.
Kentucky workers’ compensation law says there shall be a presumption that an eligible employee’s hearing impairment is an injury covered by workers’ compensation benefits if the worker presents:
- Audiograms and other tests that reveal a pattern of hearing loss compatible with loss caused by hazardous noise exposure, and
- Evidence of the worker’s repetitive exposure to hazardous noise in their workplace.
The Kentucky workers’ compensation program relies on the American Medical Association’s Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment to determine the extent of hearing loss. There is no impairment percentage required for a claim involving tinnitus, a ringing, buzzing, or other noise in one or both ears, which may be constant or come and go.
The top signs of noise-induced hearing loss are:
- Speech and other sounds seem muffled
- Ringing in the ears
- Difficulty hearing high-pitched sounds such as birds, telephones, or an alarm clock
- Difficulty understanding telephone conversations
- Difficulty understanding conversations in noisy places, such as restaurants
- Difficulty distinguishing the sounds of consonants (the difference between s and f, between p and t, or between sh and th in speech)
- Asking others to speak more slowly
- Asking someone to speak more loudly or repeat what they said
- Turning up the volume of the television or radio
- Finding certain sounds to be annoying or painful.
Filing a Work-Related Hearing Loss Claim for Workers’ Compensation
To have a viable hearing loss claim, an employee needs to prove that the noise in the workplace exceeded a certain level and that it led to a measurable impairment. A doctor’s evaluation will play a major role in determining whether the worker will qualify for benefits.
If you suspect you have hearing loss, you should contact your primary care provider, who may conduct a preliminary exam and refer you to an audiologist. Tell the doctors about your work environment. A doctor may conduct multiple tests ranging from a physical exam seeking possible causes of hearing loss, such as impacted earwax or inflammation from an infection, to hearing exams with tones and words repeated at faint levels in each ear through earphones.
If an audiologist finds that you have a hearing loss, you should contact a worker’s compensation attorney at Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer. Our legal team can help you gather evidence that your hearing loss is noise-induced and work-related.
We can prepare your workers’ compensation benefits application and explain the circumstances of your employment and job duties to show your occupational noise exposure.
If your employer or the workers’ compensation insurance administrator disputes your claim, our attorneys can present medical evidence on your behalf at a Benefits Review Conference or subsequent hearing. We may seek a court order allowing us to measure noise levels in your workplace if necessary. We also may obtain testimony from co-workers who have been diagnosed with noise-induced hearing loss.
You should understand that filing a workers’ compensation claim in Kentucky is complicated. The Kentucky Labor Cabinet, which administers the program, says on its own website that most injured workers hire attorneys because of the complexity of the process. Contacting a workers’ compensation attorney at Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer is the right step if you have experienced hearing loss and need to understand your options for seeking benefits.
Compensation Available for Noise-Induced Hearing Loss
Our objective as your workers’ compensation attorneys will be to seek the full compensation legally available to you under Kentucky law for a work-related hearing loss claim.
Workers’ compensation is meant to pay all your medical bills related to an occupational injury or illness. For a hearing loss claim, this should include the purchase of hearing aids, if you need them, as well as the cost of all appointments for exams, fittings, and adjustments. A proper settlement would include projections for multiple replacement of hearing aids in the years to come, as well.
Workers’ compensation also provides payments for eligible permanent disabilities, including work-related, noise-induced hearing loss. Typically, an injured worker is paid 66 2/3% of their average weekly wage for temporary or permanent total disability. In cases of partial hearing loss, this amount would be increased according to the worker’s permanent impairment rating as determined by the “Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment,” which is then multiplied by a factor established by state law. This can become a complex formula and, in the end, a negotiable amount.
We may also be able to help you obtain Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits for your noise-induced hearing loss. Section 2.10 of the Social Security Blue Book, the listing of impairments from the Social Security Administration (SSA), addresses hearing loss not treated with cochlear implantation. To qualify for hearing loss benefits, a person must satisfy one of two tests:
- An audiometry test must reveal an average air conduction hearing threshold of 90 decibels or greater in the better ear and an average bone conduction hearing threshold of 60 decibels or greater in the better ear, or
- A word recognition test must result in a score of 40 percent or less in the better ear, determined by a standardized list of phonetically balanced monosyllabic words.
A worker who does not qualify under either test may still qualify for disability benefits by proving that their hearing loss prevents them from working at another job.
We will spend time with you and with your medical and employment records to determine all of the compensation available to you for your noise-induced hearing loss.
Contact a KY Workers’ Comp Attorney About Your Noise-Induced Hearing Loss
If you have suffered a hearing loss caused by your job duties, you may qualify for benefits from the Kentucky workers’ compensation system. If you need to initiate a claim or appeal a disputed claim, contact the Kentucky workers’ compensation attorneys of Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer today.
We’ll put our Kentucky Courage and legal know-how behind your hearing loss claim and negotiate aggressively for everything you are due.
