BT hearing loss case studies

Case study one: Mr Keith Banwell

Former South Wales BT engineer Keith Banwell has recovered compensation for damage to his hearing caused by his work with BT who admitted that they had negligently exposed him to excessive noise levels during his employment of over 20 years.

Keith, who is an ex Union elective Secretary representative, based in Merthyr Tydfil and Pontypridd, used a series of head tone sets throughout his employment with BT. His work also took him to many noisy factories and industrial sites. The head tone sets (also known as oscillators and amplifiers with a probe), were used to locate wires in BT’s own network. His hearing was damaged by the high-pitched noise that he listened to over the headsets throughout the day.

Keith suffered a gradual deterioration in his hearing which was first noticed by his family when he would mishear what they were saying or not hear them at all. He also suffers from tinnitus. He finds it difficult to follow conversations in a group of people or where there is any background noise.

Keith commented that "Hugh James provided me with fast, efficient, professional and excellent advice. I have recommended lots of my colleagues to Hugh James and will continue to do so"

Hugh James currently represent many past and present BT engineers who used this equipment. If you or you know of others who also work or worked for BT and used this equipment and you have hearing difficulty we may be able to assist you.

Case study two: Mr Malcolm Hill

Hugh James has successfully recovered compensation on behalf of Mr Malcolm Hill from Merthyr Tydfil.

Mr Hill was employed by BT for 32 years as a jointer and used a number of tone sets provided by BT to enable him to identify tones in cables. Mr Hill brought a claim against BT as a result of suffering hearing loss.

A medical examination revealed that Mr Hill has a hearing loss caused by noise. BT admitted that they had been negligent and agreed to settle Mr Hill’s claim.

Mr Hill comments that ;"I would recommend that anyone who has a claim against BT goes to Hugh James who dealt with my case swiftly and efficiently. I had no idea that my hearing had been damaged by noise through the equipment that I was given to use by BT to do my job."

Mr Hill’s claim is one in a number of claim’s being pursued by Hugh James on behalf of current and present BT engineers. At Hugh James we have a dedicated team that specialises in dealing with Noise induced hearing loss claims and recovering compensation for not only the injury but also any appropriate treatment by way of hearing aids and tinnitus treatment.

Case study three: Mr D

Mr D had worked for BT for over 25 years as a Faults Maintenance Jointer. During his employment he frequently used tone set equipment to locate cable faults. Mr D approached Hugh James as he noticed that he was missing parts of conversation with his family and friends and constantly found that the volume of the television set was high. Mr D was subsequently diagnosed with high frequency sensory neural hearing loss and tinnitus caused by exposure to noise.

Hugh James successfully brought a claim against BT for damages as a result of Mr D’s injury in the sum of £13,000.00, which included the costs of purchasing hearing aids.

Case study four: Mr H

Mr H had worked for BT for over ten years as a Telephone Engineer frequently using tone set equipment throughout his time as an Installation Engineer and Jointer. Unbeknown to Mr H his hearing was permanently damaged as a result of being exposed to high levels of noise through using the equipment. Mr H’s personal life was affected in that he could not hear conversations properly when there was background noise and he often could not hear the telephone.

BT admitted exposing Mr H to excessive noise that was likely to cause damage to his hearing and Hugh James successfully recovered £12,000.00 in damages for Mr H.

Case study five: Mr E

Mr E had noticed over the last few years that his hearing was deteriorating and was worse than men of his own age. He frequently missed parts of conversation, particularly when there was background noise. He would have difficulty hearing the telephone and his family would often complain that the TV was on too loud.

Mr E had worked for BT for over 30 years as a telephone engineer and jointer and was still employed by them when he realised that there must have been something else other than age which was affecting his hearing loss.

During his employment Mr E had frequently used a variety of tone sets and drills without hearing protection. Hugh James arranged for Mr E to be medically examined by a consultant who tested his hearing and was able to confirm that Mr E’s hearing was considerably worse than other men of his age and confirmed that the noise that he had been exposed to during his employment had caused him to suffer a permanent hearing loss. The expert advised that Mr E would also need hearing aids.

BT admitted exposing Mr E to excessive noise that was likely to cause damage to his hearing. Hugh James successfully recovered £13,000.00 in damages for Mr E to also enable him to purchase discreet hearing aids to help him hear on a day to day basis.

Case study six: Mr K

Mr K had worn NHS hearing aids for a number of years but had no idea that his hearing loss and tinnitus could have been as a result of his employment with BT.

Mr K worked for BT for 29 years and during that time he was exposed to noise levels that could harm his hearing. He also worked in noisy factories carrying out work for BT and was exposed to loud noise from his surroundings. Hugh James arranged for Mr K’s hearing to be independently tested and he was diagnosed as suffering with hearing loss caused by noise exposure.

Mr K complained of difficulty listening in places where there was background noise in groups of people and would mis-hear parts of conversation. The television volume was often too loud for other members of the family. BT admitted exposing Mr K to excessive noise that was likely to cause hearing loss and Hugh James successfully recovered £10,000 in damages to also assist Mr K in purchasing private hearing aids.

Case study seven: Mr W

Mr W from Derbyshire noticed his hearing was deteriorating about 6 years ago. He found it difficult to keep up with conversations and struggled to hear the television and the telephone. He also suffers from tinnitus.

Mr W worked for BT for 12 years as a Telephone Engineer frequently using tone set equipment to locate pairs of wires within cables. He also worked in noisy environments such as factories and telephone exchanges.

Mr W was never provided with any hearing protection and he was totally unaware that his hearing was being permanently damaged as a result of his work at BT. Mr W was subsequently diagnosed with high frequency sensory neural hearing loss and tinnitus caused by exposure to noise. Mr W will also need a hearing aid sooner than other men his age.

BT admitted exposing Mr W to excessive noise that was likely to cause damage to his hearing and Hugh James successfully recovered £6,000.00 in damages for Mr W.

Case study eight: Mr P

Hugh James has successfully recovered £8,000.00 in compensation for Cardiff Telephone Engineer, Mr P.

BT admitted exposing Mr P to excessive noise that was likely to cause damage to his hearing.

During his work as a jointer, Mr P was exposed to loud, high-pitched noise when using tone sets made up of oscillators and amplifiers. He also frequently used noisy generators and worked in the telephone exchanges.

Mr P had worked for BT for over 20 years when he began to notice problems with his hearing. He often miss-hears conversations and his wife complains that he has the television turned up far too loud. Social situations are problematic and he has great difficulty hearing if there is background noise.

Mr P had no idea his work at BT would cause him significant permanent hearing loss and only linked the two when he was advised by an ex-colleague that he could make a claim.

Case study nine: Mr V

Former Surrey based BT telephone engineer Mr V had suffered for many years with hearing problems before realising that they were linked to his work for BT.

Mr V worked for BT for 10 years as a Telephone Engineer frequently using tone set equipment to tap and verify pairs of wires. Mr V was never told that using the tone set equipment was dangerous and was never warned that it could permanently damage his hearing.

After contacting Hugh James, Mr V was diagnosed by our Medical Experts as suffering from noise induced hearing loss and tinnitus. Mr V's need for a hearing aid had been accelerated by approximately 19 years because of his exposure to injurious levels of noise.

BT admitted exposing Mr V to excessive noise that was likely to cause damage to his hearing and Hugh James successfully secured £5,000.00 in damages for Mr V.

Case study ten: Mr F

Hugh James have successfully recovered £10,000 in compensation for Mr F, a former BT Telephone Engineer from Cardiff.

BT admitted exposing Mr F to excessive noise levels throughout his employment.

Mr F was employed by BT from 1965 until 1993 and was subject to a loud, high pitched noise when using tone set equipment. This equipment was made up of a series of oscillators and amplifiers. Mr F had no idea that by using this equipment he would be causing permanent damage to his hearing.

Mr F first noticed his hearing problems around 15 years ago. He found it difficult to follow any conversations within a group of people, especially where there was any background noise. His family have complained that he had the television turned up extremely loud and he has also suffered with Tinnitus, or ringing in the ears.

Mr F now wears a hearing aid and in 2008 was diagnosed with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss. Mr F put up with his hearing problems for over ten years and was completely unaware that they were related to his employment with BT until 2008 when he saw a Hugh James advert regarding this issue

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