Three people who suffered damage to their hearing while working for one of Harrogate’s biggest companies have won their fight for compensation.
The trio, who work for Taylors of Harrogate, claimed that low-level noise in the area where they process tea caused them to develop tinnitus.
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However, before their case went to court, a compensation settlement was agreed said to be worth five-figures. The compensation will help them control the problem, which causes a ringing noise in their ears.
Ian Walker was one of the three affected. He has been employed by Taylors as a machine engineer processing tea leaves for tea bags since 1993 at the company’s factory in Harrogate. He first noticed a problem with his ears in 2007 and complained to his bosses, but he was told the issues were caused by noisy hobbies.
The 43-year-old continued to suffer with the symptoms until he talked to some of his colleagues who also had damaged hearing. Tests were conducted and indicated he had noise-induced hearing loss.
According to Mr Walker the condition is painful and has made his ears very sensitive.
He said: “Our health and safety manager believed the noise levels to be safe and the company made some changes to protect staff. However I have subsequently learned that the provisions put in place by Taylors, made with the best of intentions, were not adequate to protect my own hearing and that of my colleagues.
“Thankfully as a result of this case Taylors have now taken action to improve hearing protection for their workers and awareness has been raised around this issue.”
Chris Fry, an expert injury lawyer, said that the case demonstrated the damage that can be caused by low-level noise over a long period of time.
He added: “Gone are the days where we see people with hearing loss just from very loud noise at work – more and more people are suffering from hidden noise damage from lower noise exposures which only surface in later life, or when tinnitus starts to become a problem.
“As a result of this case each of the claimants now has compensation that will enable them to purchase digital hearing aids, pillow speakers and bedside sound generators, all recommended to help deal with the symptoms of tinnitus, and make daily lives much more comfortable.”