A former factory worker who suffered damage to his hearing as a result of exposure to noise at work has won compensation for his injury.

The man worked at the Royal Ordnance Factory in Blackburn (which was later taken over by British Aerospace, which then became BAE Systems) from 1975 to 1985. During his time there, he was exposed to excessive noise made by lathes, grinders, metal cutters and other types of machinery used in the production of munitions.

In spite of the noisy working environment, he was never warned about the potential dangers this posed to his hearing.

Although cotton wool ear plugs were available, these did not provide sufficient protection given the ambient noise levels, nor was their use enforced by the man’s employer.

He now suffers from a mild case of noise induced hearing loss.

After he had undergone a hearing assessment, evidence of the damage to the man’s hearing was presented to his former employer in support of his personal injury claim and this was settled out of court for £3,000.