3M Combat Arms Earplug Lawsuits

As of July 2024, there were 237,907 3M Combat Arms earplug lawsuits pending out of the 391,434 that had been filed in the Northern District of Florida as part of multidistrict litigation, or MDL, 2885.

Our legal partners, and most lawyers, are no longer accepting new cases involving 3M Combat Arms earplugs.

The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation originally consolidated 3M earplug cases from all over the country into MDL No. 2885 in the Northern District of Florida in 2019.

According to the Official Combat Arms Earplugs (CAE) Settlement Program website, 3M has paid out about $819.7 million to 47,923 claimants as of July 2024.

In August 2023, 3M agreed to a $6 billion earplug lawsuit settlement to resolve nearly 260,000 pending lawsuits. The payments, which consist of $5 billion in cash and $1 billion in 3M stock, are expected to run into 2029.

Leading up to settlement talks in May 2023, some lawyers estimated that individual 3M earplug lawsuit settlement amounts could be anywhere from $5,000 to $250,000, depending on the damages claimed.

Prior to settling the lawsuits, 3M lost 10 of its 16 bellwether trials, in which juries awarded more than $250 million to plaintiffs.

Veterans who received VA disability compensation for hearing loss or tinnitus can continue receiving their benefits even if they pursued a claim against 3M, according to attorneys.

Because the government awards disability compensation based on disability ratings and not income level, a personal injury settlement should not impact benefits.

The main claim in 3M earplug lawsuits was that 3M Combat Arms earplugs were defective and caused hearing loss and tinnitus.

According to lawsuits, the stems of the earplugs were too short for soldiers to insert the plug deep enough into the ear canal to obtain a proper fit. This caused the plug to loosen, unbeknownst to the wearer or onlookers. When earplugs loosened, they did not provide proper protection.

Aearo Technologies, the earplugs’ original manufacturer, knew of this defect as early as 2000 before it obtained a contract to sell the earplugs to the military, according to a whistle blower lawsuit filed by Moldex.

During testing, Aearo personnel rolled back flanges on the noninserted side (yellow or olive) to prevent the earplugs from loosening. When 3M bought the company and took over Aearo’s military contract, the scientist and lab technician who’d tested the Combat Arms earplugs joined 3M.

The company did not inform the military of the defect or take steps to correct it, nor did it include instructions to fold back the flanges, according to a lawsuit filed by Anthony F. Ascanio.

“It is an absolute disgrace that 3M would purposefully provide defective equipment to U.S. service members, knowing that those service members would rely on that defective equipment in combat,” attorney Andrew Cobos told the Military Times. “Their fraud resulted in lifelong injuries to America’s warriors. 3M’s actions cannot, and should not, be tolerated.”

The Moldex Whistleblower Lawsuit

In 2016, Moldex-Metric Inc., which makes respiratory and hearing protection products, filed a lawsuit against 3M and Aearo Technologies. The suit claimed the company knowingly sold defective earplugs to the military, committing fraud against the government.

The lawsuit asserted that the “protracted fraud perpetrated on the military by 3M, whose dual-ended Combat Arms earplugs — which were standard issue in certain branches of the military during foreign conflicts between 2003 and 2015 — have likely caused thousands of soldiers to suffer significant hearing loss and tinnitus in addition to exposing millions to the risk caused by 3M’s defective earplugs.”

3M admitted no wrongdoing but agreed to pay $9.1 million to settle the allegations in July 2018, according to a DOJ press release.

Aearo Technologies originally designed and obtained an exclusive military contract for the dual-ended Combat Arms earplugs in 2003. In 2008, 3M bought the company and took over the contract.

When they sold the earplugs to the military, 3M and Aearo claimed the unique dual-ended design allowed soldiers to insert the olive side to protect against all sound. With the yellow side inserted, the earplugs protected against explosions but allowed soldiers to hear spoken commands or approaching enemies.

3M’s Misleading Earplug Test Results

Not only did Aearo and 3M manufacture a defective product, but they also misrepresented its effectiveness to the military and the soldiers using it, lawsuits claim.

To sell its earplugs to the military, Aearo had to meet a certain Noise Reduction Rating requirement. But lawsuits say Aearo and 3M misrepresented the results of the NRR tests to the military.

“3M (ATI at the time) did not commission an independent lab to conduct the testing on the Combat Arms Earplugs as federal law and the military solicitations required,” according to Anthony F. Ascanio’s lawsuit. “Rather, 3M purported to conduct the testing in-house, and it was a sham.”

The NRR required for the olive-colored end was 25 to 40 decibels, and it was 0 to 25 decibels for the yellow end, according to Ascanio’s lawsuit.

During initial testing, Aearo found the olive-colored end only reached an NRR of 10.9 on average. The results were disappointing, and they stopped testing on the olive end.

The yellow end reached -2 NRR. At -2, the yellow end of the earplug actually amplified the sound and functioned as a hearing aid would, according to the whistleblower lawsuit.

Aearo retested the olive end after folding back the yellow flange. By doing this, they were able to achieve a 22 NRR. For the yellow end, Aearo reported the -2 NRR as a 0. The company reported these results to the military and placed them on marketing materials.

Soldiers who thought the Combat Arms earplugs protected them were actually at risk of hearing damage. Injuries claimed in lawsuits include hearing loss, tinnitus and loss of balance, according to the Military Times.

Hearing loss is an important concern for the U.S. Department of Defense because it impacts operational effectiveness, medical readiness and quality of life, according to J.T. Nelson and colleagues’ article in Hearing Research.

Each branch of the military performs routine hearing tests on service members and keeps a record of the results.