The next time you start thinking your job is bad just think of poor Frenchman Serge Personeni. The 59-year-old apparently lost his hearing from the adverse work conditions he had to face every day; 4,000 squealing pigs.

A French court has ordered his employer to compensate the former worker for his hearing loss, which partly came as a result of the incessant squeals of the animals in the piggery.

A court in the western town of Lons-le-Saunier ruled that the piggery's owners had committed an "inexcusable error" by failing to protect Personeni from the work hazard.

The court has ruled that Personeni was made to "work in conditions incompatible with human dignity." He will awarded an as-of-yet undetermined financial settlement.