Thousands of veterans in the U.K. believe faulty ear protection has led to debilitating hearing loss, and they’re taking a major U.S. company to court.
They’ve filed a class-action lawsuit against 3M believing that the company did not provide adequate earplugs given to them from the Ministry of Defence (MoD) during the war in Afghanistan, claiming the hearing protection didn’t safeguard them from loud noises leading to deafness and tinnitus.
This is not the first time 3M has faced legal woes from veterans. In 2023, the industrial juggernaut decided to pay $6 billion to 240,000 veterans to settle a lawsuit over allegedly inefficient ear protection. The military, in both the U.K. and the U.S, used lightweight combat earplugs in training drills and active-duty missions in Afghanistan and other nations.
3M stated that the massive 2023 payout was not an “admission of liability” and that its earwear worked well if used correctly. The company is ramping up to defend its product again, this time in U.K. courts.
Dave Watson, a former guardsman from Worcestershire, England, was given a set of 3M earplugs on duty with the 1st Battalion Scots Guard in Afghanistan in 2007.
“Anywhere outside of Camp Bastion we could have been using them, sometimes for up to 12 hours a day,” Watson told the BBC.
Watson suffered heavy personal losses during combat in Afghanistan, losing both his legs and an arm following an explosion in 2010. He was medically discharged from service. Watson has become an inspiration to many, winning five medals competing in the Invictus Games for disabled veteran athletes. The British veteran spends time as a motivational speaker at charity events.
As if his losing three limbs wasn’t enough, Watson began noticing problems with his hearing about 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,” Watson said. “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.”
Watson went to his doctor for a hearing test recently and was told he will eventually need hearing aids.
From 2003 to 2015, British troops were given a new version of 3M’s previous ear protection. The combat arms earplugs were meant to be reversible; one side snuffed out most sounds, while the opposite side safeguarded the ear from more dangerous booms from explosions, while also allowing quieter noises like chatter and commands to filter through.
Carol Timone, a 33-year-old veteran who served with the British Army, said she’s also feeling the effects of hearing loss from the faulty plugs. Timone, serving from 2008-2014, spent a year in Afghanistan in 2012.
Timone, a former lance bombardier, was often exposed to loud bangs. Years later, she’s suffering from hearing loss in one ear and tinnitus in the other, a “horrific whining or pulsing that just won’t go away.”
Timone said she’s seen “veterans failed so many times.”
“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.”
The lawsuit against 3M has stirred politicians in the U.K. to act. Last month, Neil Shastri-Hurst, a member of the British Parliament, called for an independent inquiry to investigate how much hearing loss in veterans is connected to earplugs and additional equipment that simply doesn’t hold up.
Through a statement, the MoD said the British government doesn’t take the wellbeing and safety of its military members lightly.
“We always look at how we can reduce noise levels in their working environment [and] provide training, protective equipment and regular hearing tests,” the statement read. “The Armed Forces Compensation Scheme [also] provides no-fault compensation to service personnel and veterans for injuries, illness and death caused by service."
