CWU supports members with claims for hearing damage

The Communications Workers Union (CWU) is assisting around 3,500 engineer members with claims arising from the use of oscillators/amplifiers in their work, many suffering from tinnitus and other forms of hearing damage after using the devices which transmit a constant high pitched sound through a headset, allowing the user to listen for changes in tone to track faults in the cables.

In 2012 a British Telecom engineer who suffers from a high pitched buzzing in his ears after years of working with faulty equipment received £7,500 from his employers BT to cover the cost of equipment to help deal with his illness. CWU Head of Legal Services Tony Rupa said: “People traditionally associate tinnitus and hearing damage with heavy manufacturing and music industries, but there are many people who work in the communications sector who are exposed to loud, continuous and high pitched noises.”