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

Thousands of British military personnel have started legal action after being given ear protection they say was faulty and led to life-changing injuries such as tinnitus and deafness.

The US industrial giant 3M supplied the Ministry of Defence (MoD) with the lightweight combat earplugs for use while training and on active service in Afghanistan and other countries.

In 2023, the company agreed to pay out $6bn (£4.5bn) to settle similar claims from 240,000 US servicemen and women.

3M said that was not an admission of liability, its product worked effectively if used properly and it was prepared to defend itself in the English courts.

Former Guardsman Dave Watson from Worcestershire remembers being given 3M earplugs while serving with the 1st Battalion Scots Guards from 2007, including on tour in Afghanistan.

"Anywhere outside of Camp Bastion we could have been using them, sometimes for up to 12 hours a day," he says.

Mr Watson, 38, lost both legs and an arm in an explosion while on patrol in Helmand Province in May 2010, leading to his immediate medical discharge from the Army.

He has since won five medals at the Invictus Games and now works as a motivational speaker and for veterans' charities.

He says he first noticed something was 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, but I get it all through the day now," he says.

"I can't hear when my kids are calling me, I can't hear when my wife is calling me, so it's had a big impact on my family life."

Last month he went for tests and was told he would need hearing aids in the future, he says.

Rates of hearing problems in veterans under 75 years old are around 3.5 times higher than in the general population, according to 2014 research from the Royal British Legion.

A separate 2021 study of 5,474 military personnel by Kings College London found a quarter reported difficulty hearing or tinnitus.

Tinnitus is defined as a ringing, pulsing or other noise in the ear or head that doesn't come from an external source, and is often always present.

The MoD has paid out 6,735 damage claims for "noise-induced hearing loss" since 2019/2020, according to the latest statistics, with a further 520 awards through its separate no-fault compensation scheme, where claimants don't have to prove negligence.

Thousands of UK veterans and serving military personnel are now bringing a separate legal case against 3M for supplying what they say were faulty ear protectors between 2003 and at least 2015, when they were replaced by a new model.

Its combat arms earplugs (version 2) were designed to be reversible, with one side blocking out most sounds, and the other protecting against impact sounds such as explosions while letting in spoken commands and other quieter noises.

In 2018 the company paid $9.1m (£6.8m) to settle a lawsuit brought by the US Department of Justice which alleged the company knew the earplugs were too short and could "loosen imperceptibly".

Five years later, in August 2023, it agreed to a $6bn (£4.5bn) settlement to resolve 240,000 civil cases being brought by US military veterans and those still serving.

Around $2.75bn (£2bn) has been paid out to date, according to the Lawsuit Information Centre, but 3M has never accepted legal liability, arguing that its products were always "safe and effective" if used correctly.

This week the first formal legal claim was launched in the UK with a "letter before action" sent to 3M on behalf of more than 2,000 veterans and current military personnel.

"As yet, there's been no justice and no compensation for British servicemen and women," says Tom Longstaff, a partner at KP Law, which is bringing the case.

"We've got very strong evidence that this product was defective, [and] that it suffered from a design flaw, which is well-documented in some of the cases that have already proceeded in the US."

A spokesman for 3M said the company had "great respect" for the British Armed Forces and it took the allegations concerning the product seriously.

"The resolution of previous litigation in the US did not involve any admission of liability 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 between 2008 and 2014, including in Afghanistan in 2012.

The former lance bombardier says she's been left with hearing loss on one side from her time in the military and tinnitus which she describes as a "horrific whining or pulsing that just won't go away".

"I've seen veterans failed so many times, and this is just another blow to them, so I feel like something needs to be done, and someone really does need to be held accountable for it," she says.

Earlier this month the Conservative MP Neil Shastri-Hurst called in parliament for an independent inquiry into the extent of hearing loss linked to the earplugs and other potentially defective equipment.

The MoD declined to comment on the case against 3M but a spokesman said the government takes the health of its serving personnel seriously.

"We always look at how we can reduce noise levels in their working environment [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 injuries, illness and death caused by service."

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