If you have hearing loss, you may be entitled to compensation for your injury.
​
In July of 2018, the United States Department of Justice announced that 3M had agreed to pay $9.1 million to resolve allegations that they knowingly sold the Dual-Ended Combat Arms™ Earplugs, Version 2 to the U.S. military without disclosing defects that hampered the effectiveness of the hearing protection device. The earplugs were originally manufactured by Aearo Technologies, which was acquired by 3M in 2008.
If you wore dual-sided Combat Arms Earplugs™(CAEv2) between 2003 and 2015 and were diagnosed with or suffer from tinnitus or hearing loss, you may be entitled to significant compensation.
Aearo was likely aware of the ear plug’s defects as early as 2000, many years before it and 3M became the exclusive provider of selective attenuation earplugs to the military. The United States alleged that 3M, and its predecessor, Aearo Technologies, Inc., knew the Combat Arms™ Earplugs Version 2 were too short for proper insertion into soldiers’ ears and could loosen imperceptibly, potentially resulting in serious and permanent hearing damage for the user.
​
This design defect was known to 3M but was not disclosed to the Department of Defense. 3M may have manipulated test results to make it appear the earplugs met government standards.
The Dual-Ended Combat Arms™ Earplugs, Version 2 (CAEv2) were designed for military use and used extensively by millions of servicemen and servicewomen. Unfortunately, many may have been exposed to damaging sound levels after receiving defective and dangerous earplugs while serving in the U.S. and abroad.
​
Due to the design flaw, thousands of soldiers could have been subjected to dangerous sound levels during training and in combat. Dangerous sound levels can have serious and permanent effects including partial or total hearing loss or tinnitus (a ringing or buzzing in the ears).
