175 individuals (175 males) qualified as new cases of noise-induced deafness under the Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit scheme (IIDB) (Table IIDB02) in 2006/07. This has fallen from 210 individuals in 20005/06. There has been consistent reduction in cases awarded under the scheme from 1995/96 (530 cases) to 2006/07 (175 cases)
In 2007/08 an estimated 21 000 individuals who worked in the last 12 months were suffering hearing problems which they believed to be work-related, according to the Labour Force Survey. (Table SWIT3W12)
The industry groups with the highest average annual incidence rates of new cases qualifying for IIDB (based on 2004-06 figures) were extraction energy and water supply, manufacturing and construction (Table IIDB10).
A Medical Research Council survey in 1997-98 gave a prevalence estimate of 509 000 people in Great Britain suffering from hearing difficulties as a result of exposure to noise at work.
