You spent years on the factory floor. The presses, the extraction fans, the rattle of the line: it was the sound of work, and after a while you stopped hearing it at all. Now, years later, you turn the television up a little more each month, you miss the doorbell, and you find yourself nodding along to conversations you cannot quite follow. It is easy to put down to getting older. Often, it is not age at all.
The Health and Safety Executive estimates that around 15,000 workers in Great Britain experience hearing problems caused or made worse by their work each year (HSE, “Noise-induced hearing loss in Great Britain,” updated January 2026, three-year Labour Force Survey average for 2022/23 to 2024/25). The same figures suggest more than two million people in the UK workforce are exposed to noise at levels considered potentially harmful. For a region built on manufacturing, that matters more than most.
What does working in a noisy factory do to your hearing?
Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is permanent damage to the tiny hair cells deep inside the inner ear. Loud noise, repeated over years, wears those cells down, and once they are gone they do not grow back. The damage is usually gradual and painless, which is exactly why so many people miss it. You do not notice a single bad day; you notice, a decade later, that the world has quietly turned itself down.
Because the damage builds slowly and shows itself late, many people are only diagnosed long after they have left the job that caused it. Someone who worked a noisy production line in the 1980s, 1990s or 2000s may only now be putting the pieces together.
Is Manchester still a manufacturing city?
Yes. Greater Manchester sits at the heart of one of the UK’s largest advanced manufacturing, materials and engineering clusters, with more than 8,000 companies and around 114,000 people employed in the sector (Manchester Invest Partnership / Marketing Manchester, 2024). The famous cotton and spinning mills may have largely gone, but the work did not disappear; it changed shape.
Across Greater Manchester and the surrounding towns, hearing has been put at risk in:
- Engineering, machining and metal fabrication
- Textile and weaving operations
- Plastics, rubber and chemical processing
- Paper mills and packaging plants
- Food and drink manufacturing
- Printing
- Warehousing and logistics with heavy machinery
The common thread across all of these, and across the decades, is noise. A worker does not need to have spent their life in a Victorian mill to have a hearing injury. Many of the people we speak to were on the factory floor far more recently than that.
How loud is too loud at work?
Under the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005, employers have legal duties at set noise levels:
- 80 dB(A), the lower exposure action value: the employer must assess the risk, give information and training, and make hearing protection available on request.
- 85 dB(A), the upper exposure action value: the employer must reduce noise exposure where reasonably practicable, mark out hearing protection zones, and make hearing protection mandatory.
- 87 dB(A), the exposure limit value: this level must not be exceeded measured inside the ear, allowing for any protection worn.
There is a simple, practical test. If you had to raise your voice or shout to be understood by someone standing about two metres away, the noise around you was probably above the level at which your employer should have been protecting you.
What are the warning signs your hearing loss came from work?
The early signs are easy to dismiss. Common ones include:
- A constant or intermittent ringing, buzzing or hissing in the ears (tinnitus)
- Struggling to follow a conversation when several people are talking
- Family telling you the television is too loud
- Difficulty hearing on the phone, often worse on one side
- A muffled, “cotton wool” feeling, especially after a noisy environment
- Asking people to repeat themselves more than you used to
If two or more of these feel familiar and you spent years working around industrial noise, it is worth having your hearing tested and speaking to a specialist solicitor.
Can you still claim if you left the factory years ago?
Often, yes. Hearing loss claims are governed by the Limitation Act 1980. The general rule gives you three years to bring a claim, but for a gradual industrial injury like NIHL the clock does not start on your first noisy shift. It starts on your “date of knowledge” (section 14 of the Act): broadly, the date you first knew, or could reasonably have known, that you have a significant hearing injury, that it is linked to your work, and who the responsible employer was.
In practice, that date is often when a GP, audiologist or ENT specialist first tells you your hearing loss is consistent with noise exposure at work. That can be many years after you retired or moved on, which is why most claims are brought by people who left the factory floor long ago.
What if the company or factory has closed down?
A closed employer does not automatically end a claim. Businesses that employed people in noisy conditions were required to hold employers’ liability insurance, and specialist solicitors can often trace the insurer who was on cover during the relevant years through the Employers’ Liability Tracing Office and dedicated industry records. The claim is usually pursued against that historic insurer, not against a company that may no longer exist.
How much compensation could you receive?
Every case is different and depends on your age, the severity of your hearing loss, whether you also have tinnitus, the effect on your work and home life, and any need for hearing aids or therapy. Compensation is assessed with reference to the Judicial College Guidelines, 18th edition, published on 9 April 2026, the framework the courts use to value general damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenity. Indicative brackets include:
| Severity | Typical compensation range |
|---|---|
| Slight or occasional tinnitus with slight hearing loss | Around £7,600 to £12,700 |
| Mild tinnitus with hearing loss | Around £12,700 to £16,150 |
| Moderate tinnitus, requiring treatment, with hearing loss | Around £16,150 to £32,150 |
| Severe, debilitating tinnitus with hearing loss | Around £32,150 to £49,300 |
| Total hearing loss in one ear | Around £41,350 to £60,150 |
| Total deafness | Around £98,200 to £118,700 |
| Total deafness combined with severe tinnitus | Up to around £144,850 |
On top of these general damages, a claim may also recover the cost of digital hearing aids, tinnitus retraining therapy, future lost earnings where your work has been affected, and other care or equipment costs.
What does WE Solicitors do for workers with hearing loss?
WE Solicitors has handled industrial disease claims, including hearing loss, since 2001, acting for workers across textiles, manufacturing and heavy engineering throughout the North of England. Many of those clients arrived unsure whether they had a claim at all.
You will be looked after by a specialist solicitor, not passed from desk to desk. We will:
- Take a free, no-pressure call to talk through your work history
- Help arrange a hearing assessment with a recognised ENT specialist
- Trace your former employers and their insurers, even where the business has closed
- Build and value the claim properly, and negotiate firmly with insurers
- Pursue the case in court only if it becomes necessary
All hearing loss claims are handled on a No Win, No Fee basis. There are no upfront costs and nothing to pay if your claim does not succeed.
Frequently asked questions
I am retired. Is it too late to claim?
Usually not. Most hearing loss claims are brought by retired workers, because the damage often becomes obvious only years after the exposure. The three-year period runs from your date of knowledge, not your last day in the job.
My employer has gone out of business. Can I still claim?
Often, yes. Employers were legally required to carry employers’ liability insurance, and we can frequently trace the insurer who was on cover during the years you worked there.
Do I need to remember exact dates and details?
No. A rough employment history is enough to get started. Part of our job is to reconstruct the detail and find the records.
Will I have to go to court?
Most hearing loss claims settle through negotiation with the employer’s insurer, without a hearing. If court proceedings are needed in your case, we prepare you carefully.
How long does a claim take?
Straightforward cases can settle within around 12 to 18 months. Claims involving several employers or insurers that need tracing can take longer. We give you a realistic timeline at the start.
Take the next step, on your terms
A free, confidential call with a specialist solicitor is the simplest way to find out where you stand, with no obligation and no pressure. Call 0800 294 3065 or use our online contact form and a member of the team will get back to you.
Sources: HSE, “Noise-induced hearing loss in Great Britain,” updated January 2026 (hse.gov.uk/statistics/causdis/deafness/index.htm) · Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 (legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2005/1643) · Limitation Act 1980, sections 11 and 14 (legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1980/58) · Judicial College Guidelines for the Assessment of General Damages in Personal Injury Cases, 18th edition, 9 April 2026 · Manchester Invest Partnership / Marketing Manchester, advanced manufacturing cluster figures, 2024 (invest.marketingmanchester.com)
