Papen v. Willamina Lumber Co.

Claimant seeks review of an order of the Workers’ Compensation Board upholding a determination order that offset his preexisting hearing loss in its calculation of the permanent disability award. We affirm.

Claimant has worked continually in lumber mills since 1947, except for the time between 1949 and 1951 when he served in the military. He has a measurable and progressive hearing loss. Until 1980, claimant worked for Champion International, a plywood mill, where he was exposed to high levels of noise. He did not use hearing protection until 1975, when he began using it about 50 percent of…