What is noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL)?
Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) can be caused by one-time or repeated exposure to noise levels over 85 decibels, such as explosions and the discharge of weapons during military service. NIHL can end military careers and have long-lasting effects in later life, too.
Military hearing loss is often caused by exposure to loud noise sustained during military service and can include exposure to things such as:
- Small arms fire
- Artillery fire
- Mortars
- Explosions
- Grenades and pyrotechnics
- Aircraft – rotary wing and fixed wing
- Armoured vehicles and tanks
- Engines and boiler rooms on ships and submarines
Can I make a military hearing loss claim?
Yes, you can make a military hearing loss claim, with the amount being determined on a case-by-case basis. Between 2012 and 2020, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) paid £72m in compensation for military hearing loss, settling more than 9,000 cases. This is because it has a duty of care to protect your hearing.
If your military career was impacted by hearing loss and you believe negligence was involved, please contact our team of experts for a no-obligation chat. We’re highly experienced at helping armed forces personnel win compensation for military hearing loss claims.
You’ll need a medical diagnosis for hearing loss before one of our solicitors can represent you.
Types of claims
You’ll be supported by highly experienced military claims solicitors with considerable experience of winning compensation for NIHL and tinnitus across all services, including the Army, Navy, RAF and Special Forces.
Examples of the types of claims include:
- A delay in referring and/or diagnosing NIHL, resulting in further damage to hearing
- Incorrect medical grading of personnel with NIHL
- NIHL caused by the negligent discharge of weapons and explosions
- Exposure to excessive noise or short bursts of high-frequency and high-intensity sounds during training or exercise without adequate instruction
- Inadequate, unsuitable – or a complete lack of – hearing protection (PPE, or personal protective equipment)
We understand the intricacies of the military medical grading system and will use this knowledge to find out if you were treated negligently. Examples would be if you were wrongly deployed or if a deployment made your hearing worse. In either case, you should be entitled to compensation for hearing loss claims involving the military.
Your case for compensation will be built by consulting medical experts about symptoms and exposure. We’ll refer the case to independent ear, nose and throat specialists familiar with hearing loss issues caused during service in the armed forces.
Our team can interpret audiograms and will instruct a specialist doctor to assess your hearing loss. If you’ve suffered hearing damage as a result of negligent protection, please get in touch.
