3M Earplugs

What are 3M Combat Arms Earplugs?

3M Combat Arms Earplugs are special products designed by 3M to protect military personnel against loud impulse noises such as close-range firearms and other loud noises, while allowing them to still hear critical verbal commands.

3M was the exclusive supplier of earplugs to the U.S. military from 2003 to 2015. In 2006, the company supplied the U.S. military with an estimated 15,000 earplug packages, with 50 pairs of earplugs per package, at a guaranteed price of at least $9 million for that year.

3M continued to sell its Combat Arms Earplugs to the military until 2015, when it discontinued the product. According to the government’s lawsuit, 3M earplugs sold up to that point were never recalled, and were likely still used by servicemembers and sold by other vendors.

These dual-ended earplugs are designed to fit snugly in the ear canal. However, according to the government’s lawsuit, 3M knew the earplugs were too short for proper insertion into users’ ears and could loosen and move out of the ear canal, allowing loud sounds to cause damage to the ear. 3M was allegedly aware of this problem with these earplugs as early as 2000 or 2001, but did nothing to correct the problem nor did it disclose this design defect to the military.

Instead, the lawsuit states, 3M falsified certification tests that showed the products complied with military standards. As a result, 3M allowed thousands of service men and women to go through training and combat without adequate ear protection.

Individual Lawsuits Against 3M

Following the Justice Department’s announcement, hundreds of military veterans filed civil lawsuits against 3M seeking justice. Most lawsuits have been filed in federal court in Minnesota, 3M’s home jurisdiction, although other lawsuits have been filed in other courts throughout the country.

In April 2019, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation consolidated more than 640 lawsuits under U.S. District Judge M. Casey Rogers of the Northern District of Florida. The lawsuit claims that more than 800,000 former service members now suffer from hearing damage.

“Centralization in this district allows the panel to assign this nationwide litigation to a forum with the necessary judicial resources and expertise to manage this litigation efficiently and in a manner convenient for the parties and witnesses,” wrote the panel’s chairwoman, Sarah Vance.