If you were an active duty military member between the years 2002 and 2015, you could have hearing damage caused by allegedly defective 3M brand military earplugs.

During that 13-year span, 3M had a contract with the U.S. military to provide service members with Dual-Ended Combat Arms Earplugs. The earplugs originally were made by Aearo Technologies, Inc., which manufactured them in the 1990s.

An investigation by the Department of Justice found that Aearo knew the earplugs were too short to stay in place in the ears of service members in the year 2000 but failed to correct the alleged design flaw or to bring the problem to anyone’s attention, leading to many military members developing hearing loss and other hearing problems. Aearo’s contract with the military that allowed the company to be the sole supplier of earplugs was inherited by 3M when it absorbed Aearo in 2008.

3M agreed to a $9.1 million settlement last summer to resolve allegations the company knew its Combat Arms Earplugs Version 2 were inadequate at protecting the ears of military members who wore them believing they were saving their hearing.

Even though 3M admitted no liability, the allegations stemmed from a whistleblower lawsuit filed under the False Claims Act. The whistleblower portion of the False Claims Act allows those with information regarding fraud, waste or abuse of government funds to file a complaint with the U.S. Attorney’s office. The U.S. government can intervene as a plaintiff, too.

In the case of the 3M brand military earplugs, the whistleblower received just over $1.9 million for exposing the purportedly defective product.

For its report on the lawsuit settlement, Military Times spoke to Special Agent in Charge Robert Craig, Jr. from the Defense Criminal Investigative Service.

“This settlement demonstrates the commitment of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service and our law enforcement partners to hold companies accountable for supplying substandard products, in particular products that could directly impact our service members’ health and welfare. DCIS protects the integrity of Defense Department programs by rooting out fraud, waste, and abuse that negatively affect the well-being of our troops,” Craig told Military Times.

Allegations Against 3M Brand Military Earplugs

The 3M brand earplugs lawsuit alleged both 3M and Aearo knew the earplugs were too short to stay securely within a person’s ears. The earplugs allegedly could gradually loosen, allowing noise levels to harm the wearer’s ears without knowing the protection was gone.

Military personnel often were issued the earplugs during live fire training. The devices were supposed to protect the ears of service members from the loud noises of guns shooting, bombs exploding, aircraft taking off, and the barrage of tanks and other heavy military equipment moving around them.

Repeated exposure to such loud decibels can result in hearing loss and the onset of tinnitus, a persistent ringing or buzzing sound in the ears. Some patients even describe tinnitus as a never-ending piercing tone. Others say it sounds like a loud, continuous roar.

Hearing loss can result in strained relationships due to the difficulty the person has interacting with people. Social isolation and depression are common among people with hearing loss. Tinnitus can become so constant and irritating that the patient can’t sleep because of the noise.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs says that more than 2.7 million veterans receive disability income because of hearing loss or tinnitus.