British Soldiers Sue 3M Inc. Over Hearing Loss

More than 2,000 British soldiers and veterans have filed the first formal legal action in the U.K. against 3M Inc., alleging that the company supplied earplugs that failed to protect them from damaging noise during military service.

Former Lance Corporal Rikki Drury, who joined the British Army in 2001 and served in Northern Ireland, Iraq and Afghanistan, is among those taking action. He said he relied on the Combat Arms Earplug Version 2 (CAEv2) during deployments, assuming the equipment issued would be adequate.

“As a young man in Iraq, 18 years old, I wasn’t thinking, ‘I hope this isn’t damaging my hearing’… you’re going to a war zone; you think body armour and a helmet,” he was quoted as saying by BFBS Forces News. “I assumed that the ear defence we got issued would be good for the job.”

The CAEv2 earplugs were manufactured by 3M and supplied to the U.K. Ministry of Defence from 2003 to at least 2015. The claimants allege the product was not fit for purpose and contributed to conditions including hearing loss and tinnitus.

Drury, now 40, said the earplugs failed to seal properly, especially in desert heat and dust. “You could tell they were really bad; there’s hardly any suction… you can physically see they’re not good bits of kit,” he said.

The dual-ended earplugs were designed to block loud noise on one side while allowing spoken commands through the other. Drury said he believed the design left him exposed to years of cumulative damage from gunfire, explosions and vehicle engines.

When leaving the military in 2013, Drury recalled failing his final hearing assessment. “I sat in the booth and couldn’t hear anything,” he said. He now experiences partial deafness and worsening tinnitus, relying on white noise to sleep. “It’s always been one of those things that drives you insane,” he said.

Research by the Royal British Legion indicates hearing-related problems among U.K. veterans under 75 occur at rates roughly 3.5 times higher than in the general population, with an estimated 300,000 veterans affected. A survey by Veterans Hearing found that 23% of veterans describe their tinnitus as “severely distressing” at its worst.

Drury believes the company “mis-sold” the earplugs and urged others to join the case. “If you’re suffering now, it’s only going to get worse in the future,” he said. “By us stepping forward now, this could potentially stop this company from doing something like this in the future.”

This case follows major legal action in the United States. In 2019, 3M agreed to pay $9.1m to settle allegations from the U.S. Department of Justice that it supplied “defective” CAEv2 earplugs to the U.S. military. In 2023, the company agreed to a $6bn settlement to resolve 200,000 U.S. civil claims, though it stated this was not an admission of liability.

A spokesperson for 3M said the company “has great respect for the British Armed Forces” and “takes the allegations concerning our Combat Arms Earplug Version 2 seriously.” They said the product “was safe and effective for its intended purpose” when used correctly and added that 3M is prepared to defend itself in U.K. courts.

The case is now proceeding through the U.K. legal system.