What is Chemical-Induced Hearing Loss at Work?
Occupational hearing loss, or hearing loss related to your work and job duties, is unfortunately more common than you might think. While work-related hearing loss often results from exposure to loud sounds (over 85 decibels), and often for a prolonged period of time over days, weeks, or months, work-related hearing loss can also result from exposure to certain kinds of toxic chemicals. Chemicals that are known as “ototoxic chemicals” and that have a high level of “ototoxicity,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), can also cause hearing loss. In some cases, exposure to ototoxic chemicals can result in total and permanent hearing loss. What should you know if you are in this situation or work with ototoxic chemicals? Our Maryland workers’ compensation lawyers can say more.
Understanding Chemical-Induced Hearing Loss
What are ototoxic chemicals that can cause hearing loss? The CDC cites the following as common types of chemicals with ototoxicity:
- Solvents (such as toluene, styrene, ethylbenzene);
- Metals and related compounds (such as mercury, lead, and organic tin);
- Asphyxiants (such as carbon monoxide, hydrogen cyanide, and tobacco smoke);
- Nitriles (such as acrylonitrile, 3-butenenitrile, cis-2-pentenenitrile);
- Pharmaceuticals (such as antineoplastic drugs used in treating cancer); and
- Pesticides of certain types.
Exposures can occur when a worker breathes in, consumes, or absorbs chemicals through the skin. The degree of damage depends on the frequency of the exposure, the level of exposure (i.e., the amount of the chemical), and the duration of the exposure.
Professions Where Exposure to Ototoxic Chemicals Can Occur
Workers across multiple industries can be exposed to ototoxic chemicals, from construction workers to hospital workers. A more complete list includes the following:
- Manufacturing workers (including machinery, textile, furniture, electrical equipment, and fabricated metal manufacturing, for example);
- Mining;
- Utility work;
- Agricultural work;
- Construction;
- Painting;
- Maintenance work;
- Retail work;
- Pesticide and gardening work;
- Fueling work at airports and gas stations;
- Printing press and related work; and
- Health care work.
Workers’ Compensation and Disability Benefits for Hearing Loss at Work
Whether your work-related hearing loss is due to chemical exposures or high decibels, you may be eligible to obtain workers’ compensation benefits. At the outset, filing a workers’ compensation claim can allow you to receive coverage for medical care related to your hearing loss and wage replacement benefits to account for your lost wages due to your inability to work during treatment and recovery. In order to be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits, you will need to be able to prove that your hearing loss arose out of and occurred in the course of your employment.
Beyond initial workers’ compensation benefits, you may also be eligible to receive longer term disability benefits depending on the degree of hearing loss. For permanent and total hearing loss, you may be eligible to receive between 125 weeks (one ear) to a total of 250 weeks (both ears) of disability payments.
Contact a Maryland Workers’ Compensation Attorney for Assistance Seeking Benefits After Your Work-Related Hearing Loss
Do you need assistance seeking compensation after being diagnosed with occupational hearing loss? One of the experienced Maryland workers’ compensation attorneys at the Law Offices of Steinhardt, Siskind and Lieberman, LLC can begin working with you on your claim today. Contact us for assistance.
Sources:
cdc.gov/niosh/noise/about/chemicals.html
mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=gle§ion=9-627&enactments=false