MILLIONS of people in the UK suffer from some form of hearing loss.
This can have a massive impact on their quality of life, including their ability to do their job, or just to socialise with friends and family.
It can also take various forms. One of the most devastating is tinnitus, which leaves sufferers with a constant buzzing or ringing sound in the ear, without any obvious source.
In the most extreme cases, it takes the form of phantom music, where sufferers believe they can ‘hear’ actual pieces of music, including carols, pop songs, orchestral pieces, even national anthems, being played in their head.
This is not to be confused with ‘ear worms’, those catchy tunes and jingles that many people find themselves mentally replaying repeatedly after listening to them. These musical hallucinations can sound real to the person affected, to the extent they will ask others around them to turn music down.
Around 90% of those with the condition develop it as a result of hearing loss, according to research carried out by Tim Griffiths, professor of cognitive neurology at Newcastle University.
And according to Action On Hearing Loss, most of the estimated seven million people in the UK who suffer from hearing loss do so because they have been exposed to excessive levels of noise at work.
Unfortunately, many tinnitus sufferers fail to investigate the matter further to see if they also have hearing loss, and could be missing out on the compensation they are entitled to. However, help is at BUZZ OFF: Tinnitus can have a terrible effect on sufferers hand, in the shape of What’s My Deafness Claim Worth, whose team of specialist industrial disease lawyers understand the extent to which any degree of hearing loss can impact on a sufferer’s quality of life and leave them feeling quite i solated.
Hele- na Cameron, head of the industrial disease department, said: “Tinnitus can be extremely distressing and difficult to deal with.
“Unfortunately, some sufferers face an extreme form of the condition which causes such distress that they are unable to lead normal lives.
“But if their tinnitus is the result of being exposed to excessive levels of noise during the course of their work, they can make a claim for compensation from their employers, who have a legal responsibility to protect their employees from exposure to excessive noise. “And if they are no longer trading, a claim can be brought against their insurance company.
“Anyone who has been affected by hearing loss or exposure to noisy working environments can contact us for free advice. “All claims are dealt with on a no win, no fee basis.”
0800 849 8700/whatsmydeafnessclaimworth.com