Thousands of British veterans have launched a hearing damage lawsuit against U.S. manufacturing giant 3M, alleging that faulty military earplugs caused life-altering hearing loss and tinnitus. The new earplug settlement news mirrors a massive U.S. case that saw 3M agree to pay $6 billion (£4.5 billion) to affected American service members.
Veterans Allege Faulty Protection Led to Hearing Damage
Former Guardsman Dave Watson, who served with the 1st Battalion Scots Guards in Afghanistan, recalls using 3M’s earplugs daily during long operations outside Camp Bastion. Watson, now 38, lost both legs and an arm in a 2010 explosion in Helmand Province but says his hearing problems surfaced much later.
“I’d wake up with ringing in my ears — now it’s constant,” Watson said. “I can’t hear my kids or my wife. It’s had a huge impact on my family life.” After recent hearing tests, doctors informed him that he will eventually require hearing aids.
The military earplug injury case now involves thousands of UK veterans who claim the devices supplied between 2003 and 2015 were defective. The reversible Combat Arms Earplugs (Version 2) were designed to block harmful sounds while allowing soldiers to hear commands, but reports suggest they were too short to fit securely and could loosen during use.
Background: 3M’s Global Legal Battles
In 2018, 3M paid $9.1 million (£6.8 million) to settle allegations from the U.S. Department of Justice that it knowingly sold defective earplugs. By 2023, the company agreed to the $6 billion settlement for 240,000 American veterans and active-duty members.
However, 3M has denied liability, insisting the earplugs were “safe and effective” when used properly. According to the Lawsuit Information Centre, around $2.75 billion (£2 billion) has already been distributed to U.S. claimants.
This week, British lawyers sent a “letter before action” to 3M on behalf of more than 2,000 UK veterans, officially starting legal proceedings. “We’ve got very strong evidence that this product was defective and suffered from a design flaw,” said Tom Longstaff, partner at KP Law, representing the group.
3M responded, saying it has “great respect” for the British Armed Forces but maintains that the previous U.S. litigation “did not involve any admission of liability.”
“Someone Must Be Held Accountable,” Says Former Soldier
Former lance bombardier Carol Timone, 33, who served from 2008 to 2014, including a 2012 Afghanistan tour, has partial hearing loss and chronic tinnitus. “It’s a horrific pulsing that never goes away,” she said. “Veterans have been failed too many times — someone must be held accountable.”
Conservative MP Neil Shastri-Hurst has urged Parliament to open an independent inquiry into hearing loss caused by potentially defective equipment, including 3M’s earplugs.
The UK Ministry of Defence declined to comment on the case but said it “takes the health of its personnel seriously,” citing measures such as protective gear, regular hearing tests, and no-fault compensation through the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme.
Source: This story was first reported by BBC News. Read the full article here.
