In the current economic climate, fear of losing your job for any reason is raised to new heights. Amongst the ten million people in the UK with hearing loss, of whom, around 3.7 million are of working age, hiding any slight inability to hear distinctly can also easily turn into simple self-denial, which can stay with someone for years after retirement.

Living with noise induced hearing loss within the workplace was often a common practice in UK industry throughout much of the twentieth century until the mid 1970s and late 1980s with the introduction of Noise at Work Regulations. Research has found that the culture of an organisation would exert the biggest influence on worker experience and subsequent behaviour.

This too easily translated into stoically putting up with excessive noise levels and lack of adequate ear protection without complaint, for fear of losing respect with fellow workers, supervisors or managers, or even job position. Losing your hearing was – and still is – not only distressing and can also lead to a refusal to admit to having any problem. Surveys have found that only one third of workers who lost their hearing while of working age claim it made no difference to them at work.

However, around a third of workers say that losing their hearing made them less confident to take on new types of work and responsibilities and just over ten per cent felt less valued at work after losing their hearing.

Loss of hearing has always been most associated with natural aging. Those of work age, would simply feel they were not old enough to suffer loss of hearing and to this day, is still the first thought that comes to mind for retiring workers when having to confront the issue of losing the ability to hear.

As a result, research has found that those who link their growing hearing difficulties with the natural ageing process are less likely to believe that they need to make any adjustments in their daily lives, working or otherwise. The strong link with ageing can actually prevent an individual seeking hearing loss advice and the subsequent changes and adjustments required.

It is now more generally accepted that hearing damage and the most severe industrial deafness were almost certainly caused by years of exposure to excessive noise levels. As a general rule, it can take up to ten years for a retired worker to first realise their deteriorating ability to hear and take remedial action, which can lead to seeking rightful compensation from previous employers or their insurers.