On an almost daily basis, more military service members file lawsuits against 3M claiming that the Minnesota-based company sold defective earplugs to the military that failed to protect wearers’ ears and led to hearing loss.

The lawsuits take issue with the Dual Ended Combat Earplugs Version 2 — veterans and the military alike have claimed that the design was defective, and the earplugs were too short to stay in the wearer’s ear. This allegedly put many military members at risk for hearing damage. To date, more than 290,000 lawsuits have been filed over the 3M military ear plugs issue.

The first of the defective 3M military ear plugs lawsuits was filed against 3M in December of 2018, and many quickly followed suit. The lawsuits came on the heels of a $9.1 million settlement that 3M reached with the military itself. Since then, 3M has been found liable for related injuries in several other lawsuits.

In October 2021, 3M was hit with an $8.2 million verdict in an earplug hearing loss lawsuit trial. Another large verdict came in December 2021, with $22.5 million awarded to one veteran by a Florida jury. The largest verdict yet was awarded in January 2022, with two veterans receiving a total of $110 million in damages.

Of the lawsuits, over 150 were filed in Minnesota, the home state of 3M. Now, many ear plug lawsuits including those from Minnesota are being consolidated into multi-district litigation in the Northern District of Florida. In May of 2022, 3M was required to pay $2.2 million following a verdict in Florida.

3M continues to maintain that the earplugs are not defective. Additionally, the company claims that it should not be held liable for the earplugs. According to the company, the earplugs were made to specifications set by the military, and were even made with the help of the military.

Though 3M did agree to settle with the military, 3M still maintains that the product was not defective, and did not cause injury. The company also reportedly released a statement saying, “we will vigorously defend ourselves against such allegations.”

Many lawsuits claim that 3M knew that the earplugs were defective, but misrepresented them as safe and effective, and sold them anyway. To support this claim, many of the lawsuits argue that internal documents from Aearo Technologies, the 3M subsidiary that made the earplugs, indicate that the company was aware that the earplugs were defective.

The complaints argue that the earplugs are too short to fit properly into the wearer’s ears, causing them to loosen and become ineffective. Allegedly, Aearo and 3M were aware that the earplugs could loosen, and were aware that the earplugs were not long enough to be effective.

Task and Purpose explains that the Dual Ended Combat Earplugs Version 2 have two sides. One side is designed to block out all noise, and if the earplug is flipped around and inserted into the ear from the other side, the second side blocks out dangerous noise while allowing service members to still hear some sounds, like communications from other service members.

Military Times reports that the earplugs were sold to the military until they were discontinued in 2015. However, they were allegedly not recalled, and may still be in use by service members.

CBS reported that veterans claimed the earplugs caused hearing loss as well as tinnitus, a painful ringing in the ears that has no cure.