A former member of the Army No 1 Band who developed a noise-induced hearing ailment as a result of what a judge described as a "cacophony of sounds" in the music teaching room of Cathal Brugha Barracks, Dublin, has been awarded more than £43,000 damages.
Mr John Burns (51), of Glen View, Tallaght, Co Dublin, suffered the injury to one of his ears while teaching young bands-men on a daily basis in a room where there were often up to 15 people simultaneously practising.
Yesterday, the trombonist and bugler was awarded £43,663 in damages by Mr Justice O'Dono van in the High Court. The judge said he was including a sum of £15,000 for the disimprovement in his lifestyle preventing Mr Burns from continuing his musical interests.
Mr Burns, who retired from the Army in 1994 and is currently employed as a porter with the Eastern Health Board, told the court he has difficulty in using the telephone in his new occupation.
A number of fellow employees had told him to "quieten down" his voice when he uses the phone, he said. He also had difficulty in hearing the television at home and, when out socially, he experienced similar loss of hearing.
Unlike many of his former colleagues, he was no longer able to engage in musical activities and this was a great disappointment. Were he not suffering from hearing loss, he might otherwise have joined a group or band after his time in the Defence Forces, as many of his colleagues had done.
The judge said the State accepted Mr Burns had suffered noise-induced deafness and loss of hearing. But it rejected his assertion that he also suffered from tinnitus or that this was directly attributable to his time in the Army.
Mr Justice O'Donovan said an audio-gram examination had shown the plaintiff was now suffering a significant loss of hearing at high frequency and in the speech range. The evidence was that this condition would deteriorate further in the future.
For hearing loss to date, the judge awarded him £16,458 and for anticipated deterioration in the future, £12,205. He also awarded him a further £15,000 in view of the significant loss of the quality of his life he would suffer as a result of not being able to engage in musical activities.