Federal employees who are exposed to noise in the course of their job are entitled to workers compensation benefits for the damage this causes to their hearing. Many federal law enforcement officers should be filing these claims at the time they are retiring. Other federal employees that I frequently discuss this sort of injury with include USPS Tractor Trailer Operators (TTO) and other federal employees who are routinely exposed to loud noise on the job. This type of claim where you are exposed to noise over time must be filed within three years of when you last exposed to noise on the job. There are many errors that can arise in OWCP's handling of this sort of case that can cause your benefits to be denied or be far lower than they should be. If you think your federal job has damaged your hearing, you should be sure to protect your rights by acting within the relevant time limitations. If you are not sure of your time limitation, you should investigate this immediately in order to avoid losing your entitlement to benefits on a technicality.
Jeff Zeelander
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