§ 49-bb. Waiting period; date of disablement; payment of compensation.
Notwithstanding any other inconsistent provisions of this chapter,
compensation for occupational loss of hearing shall become due and
payable at the employee's choice three months after (1) removal from
exposure to harmful noise in employment (removal from exposure to
harmful noise in employment for the three month waiting period may be
achieved by use of effective ear protection devices provided at the
expense of the employer) or (2) separation from work for the last
employer in whose employment the employee was at anytime during such
employment exposed to harmful noise. The last day of such period of
removal from such exposure or of separation from such work shall be the
date of disablement. Such disablement shall be treated as the happening
of an accident within the meaning of this chapter and the procedure and
practice provided in the chapter shall apply to all proceedings as set
forth in this article except where specifically otherwise provided
herein. A claim for loss of hearing under this article shall not be
barred by the failure of the employee or the employee's dependents to
file a claim within the two year period prescribed by section
twenty-eight of this chapter, provided such claim shall be filed after
such two year period within ninety days after knowledge that the loss of
hearing is or was due to the nature of the employment. An employee whose
disablement and knowledge of disablement occurred prior to October
first, nineteen hundred eighty shall have six months from such date to
file a claim. The former average wage on which the compensation rate
payable shall be based shall be determined, as provided in sections
fourteen and fourteen-a of this chapter, by the wages earned by the
employee during the year prior to the employee's last day of work in the
last employment in which the employee was exposed to harmful noise.