A total of 640 veterans have already taken legal action over alleged 3M defective earplugs. These service members believe they developed substantial hearing loss due to the use of earplugs they thought would protect them in training and in battle.

Reports show that the earplugs fit poorly and eroded in effectiveness over time, ultimately exposing the wearer to the possibility of tinnitus. Since military members are often around very loud sounds such as gunshots and explosions, hearing protection is the only way for them to avoid lifelong hearing issues after service.

Previous Lawsuits Over Defective Earplugs

A settlement was achieved in July 2018 involving a payment of $9.1 million in a case over the defective earplugs. However, the company did not accept any liability at that time for the performance of those earplugs.

This whistleblower lawsuit reportedly helped to bring the claims of earplug problems to light. This came about as a result of a claim that 3M knew the hearing protection devices would wear down and perform poorly over time. At no time, according to reports, was the government told about these problems. Instead, these earplugs were standard issue for many people serving in branches of the U.S. military.

That settlement paid out money to the federal government. However, none of that award was directed to compensation for the injured service members. Service members report suffering everything from mild to severe hearing loss. They say they were under the impression the earplugs protected them.

Now some of these veterans now want to tell their story, especially if the earplugs fell out or were too difficult to handle to even get a firm fit to begin with.

So far, these legal claims have been brought together in one multidistrict litigation case. Since the earplugs were used in the military for such a long period of time, it is expected that the number of cases against the manufacturer will only grow.

Tinnitus is one of the most common forms of hearing loss experienced by veterans. It can start with a ringing in the ear that could get worse over time. A veteran might suggest this to a primary care doctor and then discover later following a formal test that hearing loss has occurred.

The lawsuits against 3M say the company is responsible not just for producing a defective product, but also for failing to notify the government or the military about the possible problems involved. Military members say they were never told that the earplugs might not work or that alternative hearing protection should be used if the current 3M defective earplugs started to become less effective.

Now that individual lawsuits are being brought together against 3M, and since the case involving the government did involve a settlement payment, more veterans are curious about whether or not their service-related hearing loss was directly caused by the faulty plugs. Over 2.7 million veterans already get disability benefits because of hearing loss that happened during their time in service. Once the veteran leaves the service, treatment is available for some symptoms of tinnitus, but many vets continue to live with the impacts long-term.