Listen Up! Workplace Hearing Loss and How to Obtain Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Benefits for Work-Related Hearing Impairments

When most people think about workplace accidents, they think about the horrific and tragic “freak”-type accidents, such as trapping and crushing accidents involving extremely heavy equipment, or falls from great heights. The truth is, however, that some of the most common workplace injuries happen not from dramatic and explosive one-time accidents, but from the slow and constant exposure of a worker to perhaps not-so-obvious workplace hazards. Noise and other causes of hearing loss in the workplace is one of those insidious workplace injuries that may creep up on a worker without them knowing it. To help Louisiana workers better understand some of the common ways hearing can be injured at work, we have put together this list of workplace hearing hazards.

Common Causes of Work-Related Hearing Loss 

Common causes of work-related hearing loss include:

• Heavy machinery in construction or other labor-type work: there is no doubt that construction workers are consistently exposed to a combination of loud noises from things like heavy machinery, tools, and activities on the construction site. Constant exposure to these hearing hazards can cause long-term hearing loss;
• Noise exposure in the workplace: when workers work in environments where there are high levels of noise, they can be at risk for gradual hearing loss over time. Construction sites, manufacturing and processing plants, airports, music venues, and other noisy workplaces can put workers particularly at risk;
• Explosions and blasts in the workplace: workers who work in jobs that involve explosions, such as mining, military work, firefighting, lumbar work, and other such jobs are particularly at risk for sudden and severe hearing loss from blasts and other extremely loud noises;
• Vibrations in the workplace: workers who handle vibrating machinery and tools, such as jackhammers, chainsaws, or other heavy tools may experience a combination of noise-and vibration-induced hearing loss;
• Music exposure in the workplace: of course, music and other noises played at extremely high volumes in the workplace can cause hearing damage to workers.

Hearing Loss and Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Benefits

If a worker in Louisiana suffers hearing loss as a result of their work, they may be entitled to Louisiana workers’ compensation benefits. Louisiana workers’ compensation benefits include things like wage replacement compensation, medical cost reimbursement, disability benefits, and other important benefits to help workers while they are disabled from working. In order to determine whether you have a claim for workers’ compensation benefits, it is best to speak with an experienced Louisiana workers’ compensation lawyer as soon as possible.

Work-Related Hearing Loss Workers Compensation Lawyers in Louisiana

In Louisiana, the experienced Louisiana workers’ compensation lawyers at Lunsford Baskin & Priebe offer a free and confidential consultation to learn about your workplace injury and to see if they can help you get important Louisiana workers’ compensation benefits due. Contact the law offices of Lunsford Baskin & Priebe today and speak to an experienced Louisiana workers’ compensation lawyer about your workplace injury case today.