‘Ringing in the ears’ or tinnitus is common and can occur at any age. Most people have an instance of buzzing in the ears just after working in noisy jobs like: factories, ship yards, warehouses or from serving in the Armed forces. For many, this is temporary and very quickly goes. Around 10 % people have extended industrial tinnitus that is mild and not really irritating.
However, about one in one hundred people have tinnitus that persists most of the time, and seriously effects their standard of living. The majority of these cases can be tracked back to time spent doing the job in a noisy environment, often many years in the past and long before the tinnitus became noticeable. We’ve helped hundreds of people claim compensation for their hearing loss. If you feel that you’re suffering from tinnitus, try our compensation calculator to find out how much you might be able to claim.
What are the Symptoms of Tinnitus?
The symptoms of tinnitus is thought to be a high-frequency noise such as buzzing, whistling or hissing. You’ll find, however, a few other kinds of ear ringing.
For a few people, the symptoms of tinnitus can be a low – pitch noise, for example humming, murmuring, rumbling or deep drone. Some people with ringing in the ears experience musical hallucinations, where they repeatedly pick up songs or musical tunes in their head.
If you have been told you have some of the symptoms below or feel that you have tinnitus because you from working in a noisy factory, construction site, ship yard, mine or call centre then speak to one of our tinnitus compensation team to find out if you qualify to make a claim for compensation – call 0800 122 3130. You can also start a claim online by completing a ringing in the ears claim form and one of our solicitors will call you back.
Can you pick up a low- frequency humming?
People that constantly hear low- pitch buzzing often think it’s originating from another source rather than from inside their head or ears.
To determine where the buzzing that you can pick up is coming from, ask other people whether they can hear it. If they can hear the noise, it’s unlikely that its tinnitus.
Do you hear ‘musical hallucinations’?
Sound hallucinations are more typical amongst those with long term hearing loss and tinnitus. Nevertheless, occasionally they are also experienced by people who have normal hearing and those that have an hyperacusis or a heightened awareness to sound.
As with other signs and symptoms of tinnitus, there’s sometimes no apparent reason for musical hallucinations. However, anxiety can often be a trigger.
Can you hear a pulsing sound?
Pulsatile tinnitus is a symptom of tinnitus where you hear rhythmical noises that beat in time with your pulse. It’s usually brought on by either blood flow changes in the blood vessels near your ear or heightened awareness of the flow of blood near your ears.
The blood flow through an artery can occasionally become restricted. This could be due to a build-up of fatty deposits inside the artery wall that cause the artery to narrow.
What is the cure to tinnitus?
A lot of clients who approach Mercury Legal advise that they’ve improvised their own white noise meters by tuning radio onto empty wavelengths and report that the static or ‘white noise’ does relieve the complications to an extent. Recently digital hearing assistive devices have been launched which claim to help counterbalance the buzzing, but as yet such aids are not available on the National health service.
I have Industrial tinnitus – what can I do?
Do you feel that you have developed tinnitus from working in the following places?
Factories – Noise induced hearing loss from loud machinery
Construction or building sites – Tinnitus from poor ear protection
Ship yards – Hearing loss from loud machinery
Coal mines – Miner’s tinnitus & hearing loss
Forging, pressing or stamping – Tinnitus from loud pressing noises
Canning or bottling – Loud production lines
Garages or workshops – Working with running engines
Paper, printing or board making – Repetitive loud factory noises
Servicing in the Armed Forces – Hearing loss from ordnance
Call centres or receptions – Acoustic shock from telephone headsets
Can you claim compensation for tinnitus? How Much?
Our compensation calculator will give you an idea of how much you will be able to claim for noise induced hearing loss or tinnitus. If you’ve developed tinnitus from these noisy workplaces then call our free help line on 0800 122 3130 or
request to receive a free call back.
We will be able to talk to you about how you can make a tinnitus compensation claim, with no up front fees and no hidden costs. Speak to our friendly tinnitus team now!
