Noise-induced hearing loss information for businesses

You should file a claim when you become aware that a current or former employee has been diagnosed with noise-induced hearing loss that they are claiming is related to noise exposure at your workplace.

If your current or former employee has already submitted a claim, we will send you an Employer’s Report of Occupational Noise Induced Hearing Loss (PDF). You must complete it and return the form to us within 30 days. The form can be completed online, and then mailed or faxed.

We have a specially trained team of noise-induced hearing loss adjudicators, audiologists and occupational hygienists who have experience with noise-induced hearing loss. Our priority is to provide you and your current or former employee with quality service and to get decisions to you quickly.

Once we receive information about the claim, we will assign a claim number and a noise-induced hearing loss adjudicator. The noise-induced hearing loss adjudicator on the claim will contact you to provide you with the claim number and collect any additional information they need to make a decision in the claim. We will then review information from you, your employee, and their health-care provider to decide if your employee is entitled to WSIB benefits.

We need you to provide us with information about noise exposure in the workplace(s) and noise levels your employee is/was exposed to. We’ll work with you and your employee to get all the information we need to make a decision on the claim. If available, you’ll need to provide:

• the employer’s report work-related noise-induced hearing loss (0137A) form
• a copy of all sound surveys of the area(s) and noise levels your employee is/was exposed to
• copies of all company audiograms for the employee who filed a claim
• details of your hearing conservation program and any hearing protection used

Noise-induced hearing loss is cumulative and can happen when someone is exposed to continued and excessive noise over time. When we look at a noise-induced hearing claim, we consider a person’s work history with employers who are covered under Ontario’s Workplace Safety and Insurance Act. As a result, a claim can involve more than one employer.

While there may be multiple workplaces contributing to a person’s overall noise exposure and hearing loss, there is only one employer of record on the claim. In allowed claims, the employer of record is the last employer to expose the person to hazardous noise. This means the claim will appear on that employer’s WSIB cost statement.

Because noise-induced hearing loss is considered a long-latency occupational disease, it is exempt from Policy 13-02-02, NEER(New Experimental Experience Rating Plan).

Making sure work is safe and productive for your employee with hearing loss means you may have to make accommodations, including:

• protecting your employee from residual hearing loss if your workplace is in a noise-exposed environment;
• making changes to allow your employee to hear warning signals or to monitor equipment; and
• changing or adapting the communication requirements of the job.

The resources below can help you to accommodate an employee who has hearing loss:

• Working With Hearing Loss – A guide for Employees, Employers and Entrepreneurs (Canadian Hard of Hearing Association, CHHA) (PDF)
• Ontario’s Health and Safety Associations