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Articles Tagged with hearing loss

Q&A with Soldier Who Used 3M Earplugs and Now Has Hearing Damage (Part 2)

Published on: March 31, 2021 | By Clay Hodges

Retired Army Ranger Chet Sechrest and I continue our conversation on the potential for hearing damage in the military, the crucial need for proper hearing protection, and 3M Earplugs:

Clay: So Chet as a medic you would supervise and train soldiers in the proper use of hearing protection? But you also said the Army beat into your heads the importance of protecting your hearing in whatever you were doing in the field?

Chet: Absolutely. In fact, for a long time, they had the annual hearing exam requirement. And it was like a pre-deployment requirement, you couldn’t deploy unless you had your hearing exam for that year. So the command was interested in tracking, hearing issues, to make sure that you know, not everybody’s going to go deaf. Does that make sense?

Q&A with Soldier Who Used 3M Earplugs and Now Has Hearing Damage (Part 1)

Published on: March 27, 2021 | By Clay Hodges

You likely know there is massive litigation emerging around 3M Company’s Combat Arms, dual-sided earplugs. These 3M Earplugs were sold to the U.S. government and distributed to members of the military in a huge contract over a period of 12 or 13 years. And many lawsuits have been filed recently that allege that these 3M Earplugs were defective, and they left thousands and thousands of soldiers with permanent hearing loss or tinnitus. It’s called noise-induced hearing damage. So my friend Chet Sechrest will talk about the unique ways that soldiers are exposed to loud noises. And it’s not always what you think; it’s not simply shooting a rifle or getting trained and the use of weapons or rifles, but also it could be serving as a mechanic for heavy engines, or being exposed to loud tanks or other industrial equipment. And as Chet points out, it could also simply be taking rides on very loud helicopters over and over again without the proper hearing protection. But that’s enough of an introduction. Let’s get to my Q&A with Chet Sechrest.

Clay: Chet was an Army Ranger and a member of Special Forces. He pulled three tours of duty in Iraq. So Chet, how long did you serve in the military?

Chet: I served a total of 27 years and nine months in the military.

OK to Conceal Information from Soldiers About Defective 3M Earplugs: Deposition

Published on: May 4, 2020 | By Clay Hodges

Litigation involving 3M Dual-Ended Combat Arms Earplugs (“3M Earplugs”) is advancing. Recently deposition testimony from 3M and Aearo employees was made public, and some of the answers are troubling. It brings me no joy to play the role of Chicken Little, but when companies are tempted by massive profits, too often those companies will cut corners on consumer safety. In this case, those consumers were millions of soldiers serving their country from 2003 to 2015.

First, in a recent deposition a 3M marketing manager confirmed that 3M was selling the dual-ended earplugs to the military for $7.63, even though it cost the company just $.85 to manufacture, a 900% markup. In an email the 3M employee remarked “LOL,” apparently about the hefty price increase for the 3M Earplugs.

Second, as I wrote about a year ago, one of the central allegations in the soldiers’ claims against 3M is that the company did not adequately test the 3M Earplugs before selling millions of them to the military. Nevertheless, in deposition testimony 3M officials stated that they did not believe it was necessary for soldiers to know that the earplugs were tested under conditions that were different from the conditions the soldiers would experience in the field. In fact, a former vice-president at Aearo Technologies testified that he thought it was OK to conceal information from the government about potential defects in the earplugs. He also confirmed that it was acceptable to sell a product and conceal information that the product could have a negative effect on soldiers.

Defective Earplugs Have Caused Soldiers Noise-Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL)

Published on: April 2, 2019 | By Clay Hodges

Hearing loss is awful no matter how it happens. I’m sure it has been stellar to play guitar for The Who, as Pete Townshend has done for decades. Sadly though he now suffers from serious hearing loss and tinnitus. Townshend contracted noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) after years standing too close to powerful amplifiers projecting extremely loud rock music. Eric Clapton has also suffered hearing loss because of his work as a blues guitarist and rock musician. Townshend and Clapton have had legendary careers, but their suffering today from hearing loss is very real and awful.

The reality is, anyone who works in loud environments can suffer NIHL. Musicians, engine mechanics, construction workers, miners, and farmers are all susceptible to hearing loss from the work they do in loud environments and with loud equipment. (I’ve even read that the squeal of a pig can reach decibels of 115, louder than a power tool!)

Perhaps the worst cruelty occurs when members of our armed services suffer hearing loss. These are people who volunteer to keep us safe. These are people who choose a career which may call for them to go to war and fight and possibly die to protect the rest of us. Of course you would expect that the least we would do as a nation is to send these men and women out to train and serve with the safest possible equipment. Sadly, though, news reports are emerging that military service members were issued defective earplugs that may have caused permanent hearing damage to hundreds of thousands of soldiers. These earplugs were developed by the Aearo family of companies, which was then bought out by 3M Company. The earplugs were called Dual-Ended Combat Arms Earplugs (CAEv2). And between 2003-2015, Aearo and 3M sold millions of pairs of these earplugs to the branches of the armed forces. If you served in the military during this period and were issued dual-sided earplugs (with a distinctive olive and yellow color), you got the Combat Arms Earplugs.

Defendants Knew 3M Earplugs Were Defective and Still Sold to Military: Lawsuits

Published on: March 1, 2019 | By Clay Hodges

In my last post I introduced the 3M Earplugs and the (alleged) defects that caused hearing loss in thousands of military service personnel. I thought it would be helpful to bullet point some of the key allegations made by injured soldiers in lawsuits filed against 3M related to these earplugs.

First, I refer to this product simply as the 3M Earplugs. However, the product’s official name is the Dual-Ended Combat Arms Earplugs (CAEv2). So if in your reading you see 3M Earplugs or Combat Arms Earplugs, it is most likely the same product.

Second, I need to provide some clarification on the defendants involved in this expanding litigation. The 3M Earplugs were originally developed and manufactured by Aearo Holding Corporation (which became Aearo Holding LLC) along with the involvement of Aearo Technologies LLC, Aearo Intermediate LLC, and Aearo LLC. It may be a bit confusing, but it’s not uncommon for a company to have subsidiary companies handling research, or development, or the manufacture of a product. In any case, 3M Company bought Aearo Holding LLC in 2008 and with the purchase acquired the Combat Arms Earplugs. The Earplugs were thus placed under the 3M brand, and 3M became entitled to the profits flowing from the earplugs but also became responsible for the liabilities of the product. Thus, 3M Company is the primary defendant in this litigation.

Lawsuits: Defective 3M Earplugs Caused Troops Hearing Loss, Tinnitus

Published on: February 7, 2019 | By Clay Hodges

We rely on safety equipment to do what it was meant to do: protect us. But this is precisely what 3M earplugs have failed to do for our troops. The specific product at issue? 3M’s now discontinued Combat Arms earplugs issued to U.S. military servicemen and women from 2002 until 2013. The fundamental flaw with the earplugs? They were too short and therefore could not adequately provide hearing protection to our troops while they were in combat situations or were involved in training activities. The result? Many members of our military now have to deal with irreparable, but completely avoidable, hearing damage from a defective product. Combat situations are dangerous enough as it is. Service members should have the peace of mind that basic safety equipment will be free of fundamental defects and will function properly.

These Combat Arms earplugs got the attention of the United States government. In 2016 the Justice Department accused 3M of knowingly providing defective earplugs after the government learned of 3M’s activities thanks to whistle-blower activities by another earplug maker, Moldex-Metric, Inc. In the summer of 2018, 3M paid approximately $9.1 million to settle the claims made by the government. Justice, however, is far from complete. There are countless veterans and current active duty military now dealing with the hearing damage from relying on these faulty products for hearing protection. These individuals, however, are not seeing a penny from the 2018 settlement. Individual lawsuits against 3M are therefore necessary for those damaged to obtain compensation for the preventable damage done to their bodies.

The Combat Arms earplugs at issue were originally developed by Aearo Technologies; 3M later acquired the company and its products. These earplugs had a two-sided design that was supposed to provide ear protection no matter which side was inserted into the ear. The yellow side was supposed to provide protection against high-level impulsive noise while still allowing the wearer to hear talking, commands and other lower level noises. The other side, the green side, was intended to block out all sounds. According to several lawsuits brought by injured service members, the earplugs did not work as designed, largely because they did not stay in place properly due to their length. Internal documents linked to 3M allegedly suggest that 3M was on notice of the defect and failed to take action. Now, our veterans are paying the price.

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