‘Giving soldiers defective ear plugs was a betrayal’ | UK News

When Dave Pettifer was a Royal Marines commando, he fought in the jungle, endured the Arctic tundra and completed three tours of Afghanistan.

He faced many threats – but he never thought hearing loss would be one of them.

Mr Pettifer, a father-of-two from Oldbury, is among hundreds of soldiers in the UK taking legal action after allegedly being issued defective ear plugs during his service.

“Everyone I speak to in the military has some kind of hearing problem,” the 47-year-old told the .

“It’s probably the most dangerous job in the world and you expect the people that employ you to send you off with the correct kit that’s fit for purpose. It’s a betrayal.”

UK law firm KP Law launched a claim on behalf of the veterans against 3M, the US company that supplied the Ministry of Defence with 400,000 sets of Combat Arms Earplugs between 2003 and 2023.

The ear plugs were originally manufactured by Aearo Technologies, a company which was acquired by 3M in 2008.

The claim alleges the earplugs suffered from a design defect which meant they were unable to form a complete seal in the soldier’s ear.

It is also alleged 3M knew the ear plugs were defective, referring to evidence which came out of litigation in the US in which an internal memo acknowledged the ear plugs had problems.

3M – a company best known for being the manufacturer of Post-It notes – did not comment when contacted by the .

Mr Pettifer was one of the first veterans to join the claim against the company after years of struggling.

“I find I have to look at people’s faces to hear what they’re saying,” he said.

“If there’s some background noise I can’t hear anything in my left ear, I have to turn my head to the right to hear.

“My wife has to keep repeating things when I mishear. I have often felt embarrassed when I’ve had to ask people to repeat themselves after not hearing them correctly.”

The class action follows a historic $6bn settlement made by 3M regarding the same ear plugs which were supplied to the US military.

It is one of the biggest cases of its kind in US history, however, 3M said it accepted no liability.

“They had a duty to protect soldiers – they were supplying something that we needed to protect us,” Mr Pettifer said.

“To think that they would have sold something that they knew was defective is quite reprehensible.”

Tom Longstaff, a partner and head of product liability at KP Law, said hundreds of veterans had joined the UK claim and thousands more had damaged hearing because of ear plugs that “don’t work”.

“One of the British military’s core values is integrity. By supplying earplugs that were defective, and which 3M knew were defective, 3M showed no integrity,” he said.

“It is only right that the men and women whose lives have been impacted receive justice and compensation.”

Mr Pettifer agreed, adding: “What we need to see is some justice handed out. I know guys who are younger than me that have got double hearing aids.”

Claire Wilkes, a teaching fellow in audiology at Aston University, spoke to the about the damage defective equipment can have on hearing when someone is exposed to high levels of noise.

“That can lead to a permanent hearing loss, because it will attack the hair cells in the main organ of hearing and unfortunately they’re just not able to recover once they’ve been damaged, so it’s really important that people wear the most appropriate ear protection for the job they’re doing,” she said.

“It’s essential and employers have a duty of care to provide appropriate ear protection for the job.”

The Ministry of Defence said it would not comment on ongoing legal proceedings.