British veterans with hearing loss start legal battle over 'faulty' earplugs

Thousands of British military personnel have taken legal action after being given ear protection that they claim was defective and resulted in life-changing injuries such as tinnitus and deafness. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) was supplied with the lightweight combat earplugs by the US industrial giant 3M for use while training and on active service in Afghanistan and other countries. The company decided to pay out $6 billion (£4.5bn) in 2023 to settle similar allegations brought by 240,000 US servicemen and women. 3M stated that this was not an admission of guilt, that its product was safe if used properly, and that it was ready to defend itself in the English courts.

Dave Watson, a former Worcestershire Guardsman, remembers being given 3M earplugs while serving with the 1st Battalion Scots Guards, including on a tour of Afghanistan. "Anywhere outside of Camp Bastion, we may have been using them for up to 12 hours a day," he says. Mr Watson, 38, suffered injuries to both legs and an arm in a fire while on patrol in Helmand Province in May 2010, prompting his immediate medical release from the Army. Since winning five gold medals at the Invictus Games, he now works as a motivational speaker and for veterans' charities. He claims he first noticed something wrong with his hearing around 18 months ago.

"I'd wake up in the early hours of the morning with a ringing in my ears," he says, "but I get it all day long. I can't hear my children when they're calling me, and I can't hear my wife when she's calling me." He went for tests last month and was told he would need hearing aids in the future.

Deafness and damage

Around 3.75% of veterans under the age of 75 have hearing loss, which is 3.5 times more than in the general population, according to 2014 Royal British Legion results. A quarter of the 5,474 military personnel surveyed by Kings College London reported difficulties with hearing or tinnitus. Tinnitus is defined as a ringing, pulsing, or other noise in the ear or head that does not originate from an external source, and is often persistent. According to the most recent estimates, the MoD has paid out 6,735 damages claims for "noise-induced hearing loss" since 2019/2020, along with a further 520 awards under its separate no-fault compensation programme, where claimants don't have to prove negligence.

Thousands of British military personnel are now bringing a separate court complaint against 3M for selling what they say were defective ear protectors between 2003 and 2015, when the company was updated with a new version. Its combat arms earplugs (version 2) were designed to be reversible, with one side blocking out most sounds and the other shielding against impact sounds such as explosions while still allowing in spoken commands and other quieter sounds. In 2018, the company paid $9.1m (£6.9m) to settle a US Department of Justice complaint that the earplugs were too short and could "loosen imperceptibly." Five years later, in August 2023, it agreed to a $6 billion (£4.5bn) deal to resolve 240,000 civil cases brought by US military veterans and those who are currently serving. Around $2.75 billion (£2bn) has been paid out to date, but 3M has never accepted legal responsibility, arguing that its products were always "safe and effective" when used properly. A "letter before action" was sent to 3M this week on behalf of more than 2,000 veterans and current military personnel in the United Kingdom.

"No justice and no compensation for British servicemen and women," says Tom Longstaff, a partner of KP Law, which is bringing the lawsuit. "We have very strong evidence that this product was defective [and] that it suffered from a manufacturing defect," which has been well-documented in several of the lawsuits in the United States. A spokesman for 3M said the company had "great regard" for the British Armed Forces and that it investigated the allegations concerning the product seriously. "The settlement of previous lawsuits in the United States involved no admission of guilt, and 3M is prepared to defend itself in any litigation threatened in the English courts," he said.

Carol Timone, 33, says she used the earplugs while serving in the British Army from 2008 to 2014, including in Afghanistan in 2012. According to the former lance bombardier, she has been left with deafness on one side and tinnitus, which she describes as a "horrible whining or pulsing that won't go away." "I've seen veterans fail so many times, and this is just another blow to them," she says. "Something needs to be done, and someone must be held accountable for it." Earlier this month, Conservative MP Neil Shastri-Hurst called in Parliament for an independent inquiry into the extent of hearing loss due to the earplugs and other potentially defective equipment.

The MoD declined to comment on the 3M lawsuit, but a spokesman said the government takes the wellbeing of its serving employees seriously. "We're always looking at how we can reduce noise in their workplace [and] provide training, protective equipment, and regular hearing tests," he said. "The Armed Forces Compensation Scheme [also] provides no-fault compensation to service personnel and veterans for service injuries, sickness, and death caused by service."