Hearing loss caused by work is preventable but is unfortunately permanent. It is usually gradual because of prolonged exposure to noise. It may only be when damage caused by noise over the years combines with hearing loss due to ageing that people realise how deaf they have become.
Signs of hearing loss may include;
Eventually everything becomes muffled, and people find it difficult to catch sounds like 't', 'd' and 's', so they confuse similar words.
Employees may suffer either ringing, whistling, buzzing or humming in the ears, a condition known as tinnitus. Tinnitus is a persistent and extremely annoying condition. It can be more noticeable in quiet places. Tinnitus is a distressing condition which can often lead to disturbed sleep.
HSE have produced an audio demonstration of what noise induced hearing loss is like. You can listen to it here.
The NHS has comprehensive advice on the symptoms of hearing loss which can be found here.
