Workers’ compensation in Florida covers a wide range of ailments. Hearing loss can cause great difficulty in your professional and personal lives. If you are working in a place with a loud noise, it can impact your hearing ability in the short and long run.
You might face difficulty in hearing things in the short run, while you can lose your hearing capability completely in the long run. In such a scenario, will you get coverage under the workers’ compensation in Florida?
We will discuss all the factors that can come into play for the impact of hearing loss and workers’ compensation in Florida. Let’s get a better understanding of hearing loss first.
What is Hearing Loss?
Hearing loss refers to the loss of the ability to hear things properly. Several aspects can affect hearing loss, which is why it’s vital to go over them, particularly when dealing with workers’ compensation in Florida. You can either face one of the two kinds of hearing loss:
- Conductive loss
- Sensory hearing loss
Conductive Loss:
As per the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, conductive loss is when the noise is not run through the outer canal in the ear. Therefore, the sound does not go through the eardrum, and the minute bones in the ear in an efficient way.
As a result, it can lead to a conductive loss. A vital point to note is that there is a chance to correct conductive loss with the help of various medical procedures since the conductive loss is not due to any loud noise in the workplace.
Sensory Hearing Loss:
Sensory hearing loss is due to the reason when the hair cells, which are responsible for catching noise, are impaired. It can because of the loud noise in the workplace that the person has to endure and can lead to a workers’ compensation claim.
Exposure to hearing loss can occur in two modes:
- Permanent Threshold Shift: It is a permanent drop in your hearing ability due to exposure to loud sounds in the workplace
- Temporary Threshold Shift: It is a temporary drop in your hearing ability because of a burst (There is a good chance to recover from Temporary Threshold Shift in short time)
How Can Hearing Loss Affect Individuals?
Hearing loss can occur to numerous individuals due to loud noises at the workplace. The impairment in hearing can impact a person in the ways mentioned below:
- Hamper their overall productivity
- Put them under stress
- Can put the individual in anxiety and depression
- Hearing loss can also become a cause for tension, frustration, and loneliness
The people with hearing loss can face difficulty in their professional and personal lives.
What Benefits Can Your Get in Workers’ Compensation in Florida for Your Hearing Loss?
Hearing loss can cause discomfort and become a reason for frustration. If it is due to your job, your employer and the insurance company must give you the treatment and cover all the expenditures relating to the injury. You can get compensation for your hearing loss.
As per the Florida Workers Compensation Statute Chapter 440 Section 15, you can get 66% of your weekly earnings throughout the period of your hearing loss disability. You can always hire a reliable workers’ compensation lawyer to deal with the technical aspects of your claim.
Visit a Doctor:
The most important thing to do in case you feel difficulty in hearing is to report your situation to your employer. You can ask them to see a doctor who might advise you to visit an audiologist to conduct a hearing test.
Audiologists are an expert in diagnosing issues with people’s ears, throats, and noses. The audiologist can do a complete diagnosis to assess if there are any hearing and balance disorders.
Once your evaluation for hearing loss is complete, the audiologists will recommend some tests over a period to check the impact of the impairment and assess your capability to comprehend speech.
You will be eligible to get workers’ compensation benefits even if your hearing loss is a result of a one-time incident or because of long-term exposure.
Hire the Best Lawyers for your Workers’ Compensation:
Hearing loss can occur over a while with prolonged exposure to loud noises. It is why your employer can raise questions regarding your claim that the hearing loss is due to loud noises at the workplace.
Nevertheless, the team at Florida Lawyers 360 is here to ensure you get the compensation you deserve for your hearing loss. Give us a call to discuss your claim of workers’ compensation in Florida.
