Hearing Loss From Ear Plug Usage

The Minnesota located 3M company made the Dual-Ended Combat Arms™ Earplugs that were used by military personnel from the years 2003 to 2015 during combat and training exercises in order to guard soldier hearing from gunfire and explosions. Hearing problems are the most common issues suffered by veterans so hearing defense is a serious concern for U.S. soldiers. Based on different situations, the 3M Dual-Ended Combat Arms™ Earplugs were designed to offer two different amounts of protection. The dual-ended earplugs have a design that is easily noticeable. As their name implies, they consisted of two outward facing plugs, one green and one yellow.

While the yellow end was inserted inside the ear, this was called as Weapons Fire mode. This level was designed to provide normal hearing for top situational alertness. It could allow staff to communicate, receive commands and hear other important noises in the combat field whilst still providing defense from peak level sounds like gunfire and explosions. This could have been the desired mode in combat situations.

When the green end was inserted inside the ear, this was known as Closed Protection mode. Constant Protection was designed to block all sounds more completely in order to offer complete defense. Per 3M, this mode is for high-level sustained sound scenarios such as those in tracked vehicles and air support. This mode might have additionally been used in many standard training exercises and environments as well.
Claimed Hearing Risks
Combat Arms EarplugsManufactured by 3M and its predecessor, Aearo Technologies, Inc, Dual Ended Combat Arms Earplugs, Version 2 (CAEv2) that were designed for military usage and used extensively by thousands of personnel deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq between 2003 to 2015. The CAEV2 was produced to let two different protection settings, Open Fire mode and Closed Protection mode. The appropriate setting is determined by which side of the plug is inserted into the ear, yellow means Weapons Fire mode, green means Constant Protection mode. Weapons Fire mode is created to allow for hearing speech and communicating yet still protecting from damaging noise levels from gunfire and explosions. The Constant Protection level blocked all noise more fully which was useful for soldiers operating in track vehicles, in air support or while regular training. Both settings were purported to stop noise up to a certain level but in current legal action, the government has claimed that neither mode of the ear plug met the Noise Reduction Rating (NRR) which 3M claimed because of an unreported manufacturing error.

$9.1 million Settlement Between 3M and the U.S. Government
In July of 2018, the U.S. veteran hearing of Justice reported that 3M had agreed to pay $9.1 million in order to resolve allegations that they knowingly sold the Combat Arms Earplugs v2 to the U.S. military without admitting defects that hampered the effectiveness of the hearing defense device. The lawsuit was initially placed in 2016 under the whistleblower part of the False Claims Act that allows private parties to sue on behalf of the federal government whenever they believe that a defendant has represented false claims for government funds. In this case, the whistleblower was granted $1,911,000 for their part in the lawsuit.

Per the Department of Justice press announcement, the settlement took care of claims that 3M violated the False Claims Act by selling or causing to be sold defective earplugs to the Defense Logistics Agency. Specifically, the United States claimed that 3M, and its predecessor, Aearo Technologies, Inc., knew the CAEv2 was too short for correct insertion into users’ ears and that the earplugs might loosen slightly and therefore didn’t perform well for certain people. It’s additionally alleged that this design error was known to 3M but was not shared with the Department of Defense.

Harm to Personnel
If the claims about 3M are true, many personnel could have used faulty plugs which did not protect them as the equipment was supposed to. Based on the alleged design flaw, the plugs may loosen while inside the ear unbeknownst to the soldier allowing damaging noise to make their way inside the ear. Harmful sound levels can have serious and permanent effects including partial or total hearing loss, or tinnitus, a ringing inside the ears. Hearing damage is one of the most frequent issues suffered by active duty and former servicemen. Tinnitus, which could be debilitating, is just as prevalent. According to a research scientist with the VA Portland Healthcare System, last year there were over 1.6 million soldiers searching for medical care for chronic tinnitus.

You Could be Entitled to Compensation
If you or a family member were provided Dual-Ended Combat Arms Earplugs during service in the military between 2003 and 2015, and have since suffered partial or total hearing damage or suffer from tinnitus, your case should be discussed with the Meneo Law Group to explore every option available to you.