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Common Types of Work-Related Hearing Loss Illnesses
Hearing loss can occur as a result of immediate trauma or it can develop over time following long periods of exposure to loud work environments. There are several types of recognized occupational hearing loss (OHL) that can develop, including:
Sensorineural Hearing Loss
Sensorineural hearing loss is the most common type of hearing loss, occurring when the nerves in the inner ear are damaged and no longer properly transmit sound from the ear to the brain. The common causes of this type of hearing loss can include noise damage, age, and medications that damage the hair cells in the inner ear.
Conductive Hearing Loss
Conductive hearing loss results from certain obstructions in the middle or outer ear, which can prevent sound from entering the middle part of the ear. This can cause faintness and/or distortion of certain sounds and voices. This type of hearing loss is often treated either through medical treatments or surgery.
Mixed Hearing Loss
This type of hearing loss is a combination of both conductive and sensorineural hearing loss.
How Workplace Hearing Loss Develops
There are several different causes of work-related hearing loss that can result in gradual or immediate injury. Some of the most common occupational hearing hazards can include high levels of industrial noise or exposure to certain types of ototoxic chemicals. In many cases, workers suffer hearing loss because of a combination of both industrial noise and ototoxic chemical exposure, which can cause more collective damage than either would alone.
Regardless of the cause or extent of the hearing loss, you may be entitled to workers’ compensation.
Treating Occupational Hearing Loss
While some cases of OHL may require more minor treatment such as the removal of wax blockage, other more serious types of hearing loss may entail certain surgical procedures to treat abnormalities of the bones in the ear or eardrum. Other types of treatment may include hearing aids and cochlear implants for more severe hearing loss.
When You Should File a Claim for OHL
Many employees who sustain work-related hearing loss may be concerned about the filing process because of a lack of information regarding the process, but you can successfully navigate the filing process with the help of a dependable attorney who will guide you through every step. In Illinois, you have the ability to file with either the state or your employer.
When seeking compensation from an employer, a claimant will be required to provide the employer with a detailed written description of the injury and the cause of it within 45 days of the initial incident, unless the injury took longer to develop. Based on the report, the employer can either accept or deny the claim, but will need to explain the decision in a written description. If the employer chooses to accept the claim, they will need to provide access to health care and benefits. If they deny the claim, you can still file an appeal to the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission (IWCC) to begin an investigation of the claim and the employer’s decision to deny it.
Employees can also make the process go more quickly by filing a claim directly with the IWCC if it seems likely that the employer will reject the claim regardless of the circumstances. However, you will still need to provide an in-depth written description of the injury and the cause of it.
Dependable and Knowledgeable Hearing Loss Injury Workers’ Comp Attorneys
Whether you sustain OHL either immediately because of an incident in the workplace or over a period of time because of hazardous noise levels or ototoxic chemical exposure, you may have some concerns including:
- When you will be able to return to work
- How you will be able to support yourself and your family without steady income while out of work
- The amount of compensation you are eligible to recover for your injury via a workers’ comp claim
- When you’ll be able to cover your medical expenses
At Vasilatos Injury Law, we’ll work with you to successfully file your workers’ comp claim and our team of reliable attorneys will be able to provide some of the best representation for you in any negotiations taking place out of court. We can also represent you in court, if needed. Our attorneys understand how important it is for our clients to be able to restore their lives to the way they were before the injury, and will work with you to get the most favorable settlement.
We can help you determine how your hearing loss has affected your wellbeing, including the ability to work and your overall financial situation, and we’ll help you recover the damages. We’ll work with you to reach a settlement that helps cover all medical bills along with any lost income accumulating from time taken off from work for treatment.
Our team has worked with many clients who have sustained hearing loss along with many other types of injuries in the workplace or anywhere else on the job. We understand how detrimental these injuries can be to your life and wellbeing, which is why we do everything we can to help restore our clients’ lives to the way they were before the injury occurred.
What Workers’ Comp Covers for Hearing Loss
If you endure any hearing loss or another type of work-related injury or illness, you may be able to recover various types of compensation to help you get the treatment you need to make a full recovery. Workers’ comp can cover a variety of costs, including:
- Doctor visits
- Medication
- Rehabilitation
- Surgery
- Hospital stays
- Medical equipment
Average Settlement for Work-Related Hearing Loss
The amount of compensation you are eligible to receive for a work-related hearing loss injury will depend on the nature of the case and the illness. Here are some of our clients’ success stories regarding the compensation they were able to recover with the help of our legal team.
