The US Military Prioritized Soldier's Hearing Protection Needs In Iraq and Afghanistan

Military conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq were the first to feature hearing protection as standard issue equipment for every soldier

Friday, April 17, 2020 - Military officials were eager to provide troops with a life-saving ear protection device that would protect them from the loud noises of gunfire and battlefield explosions but also needed the device to be transformed in one way or another to allow critical battlefield verbal communications to be heard. Many movies have been made that illustrate how loud the battlefield can get by showing one soldier screaming directions at another from a distance where under normal circumstances a mere whisper would suffice. Designing more effective hearing protection and educating soldiers in combat and other loud places like a firearms training range, to wear them is a high safety priority of the US military.

Although hearing protection has been heavily prioritized since the gulf wars began around 2002 an alarmingly high percentage of soldiers have suffered permanent and life-altering hearing damage and forced upon veterans disability payrolls. According to Hearing Review.com, "one in four soldiers returning home (from Iraq and Afghanistan) report hearing loss, dizziness, or ringing in the ears, according to Army audiologists." Battlefield gunfire and explosions can cause concussions and blast eardrums much like when a drummer's snare drum is punched with a hammer. Instead of rebounding briskly the eardrum crackles until it can self-repair with scar tissue. The repair is never adequate, however, and hearing loss results going forward. The bigger the blast, the bigger the tear, the more profound the permanent hearing damage. In addition to combat situations, a soldier's hearing is in peril while around helicopters, riding in humvees and troop carriers, electrical generators, and military aircraft.

Improvised explosive devices (IEDs) camouflaged and secretively deployed by the enemy to ambush American soldiers caused thousands of soldiers to experience blown eardrums and hearing injuries quickly became the most debilitating battlefield injury requiring a soldier to be taken out of active combat duty. Hearing clinics in the field were overwhelmed with soldiers seeking hearing tests. "There are (were) 13 hearing test clinics in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, and Qatar, said Merkley, who was in charge of the Iraq clinics for 15 months in 2006 and 2007. Near the end of my tour, I was seeing eight to 10 soldiers a day. A couple of guys who had been in blasts, their only injuries were blown eardrums. I know of two leaders who were taken out of the fight because of blown eardrums." Hearing damage became so prevalent that soldiers took losing their hearing for granted as merely a necessary part of serving their country.

It is infuriating to think that the thousands of soldiers that relied on hearing protection provided as part of a much larger multi-billion dollar government contract could have been misled into thinking that the had adequate hearing protection. These soldiers and others who relied on the 3M Dual-Sided Combat Army Earplug have contacted Army Earplug Lawyers and filed lawsuits for lump-sum monetary compensation.

More Recent 3M Earplug Lawsuit News:

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• 3 Cases Selected For Army Hearing Loss Trial | 1/29/2021
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• Military Veteran Hearing Loss Trials to Start in Spring 2021 | 12/26/2020
• Hundreds of Veterans Continue To Sign Up To Sue 3M For Defective Earplugs | 12/14/2020
• 3M's Greed Contributed To Thousands of Military Deaths and Injuries | 12/6/2020
• Taxpayers Foot The Bill For Army Earplugs That Turned Out To Be Defective | 11/21/2020
• Tinnitus Sufferers May Have Difficulties For The Remainder of Their Lives | 11/14/2020
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• US Military Alleges 3M Fraudulently Represented The Army Earplug | 10/27/2020
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• 200,000 Military Veterans Suing 3M For Defective Hearing Protection | 8/31/2020
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• Federal Judge Rules 3M Is Responsible For The Army Earplug Design | 7/28/2020
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• Army Veterans With Tinnitus Are Unable To Live Normal Lives | 6/29/2020
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• Whistleblowers Can Save Taxpayers Money and Military Servicemember Lives | 10/15/2019
• New Army Earplug Lawsuit Accuses 3M of Fraud | 10/11/2019
• Military Veterans Are Suing 3M For Making Faulty Earplugs | 10/7/2019
• Military Personel Suffering From Tinnitus Have Found Ways To Alleviate Their Suffering | 9/26/2019
• Hearing Loss is Now Recognized For The Debilitating Service Injury It Is | 9/17/2019
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• 3M Vows to Fight Lawsuits Alleging The Faulty Design of the 3M Combat Army Earplug | 8/28/2019
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• 3M Army Earplug Lawsuits Are Moving Forward To Discovery in Multi-District Litigation | 6/27/2019
• Service Members Continue To File Army Earplug Lawsuits | 6/24/2019
• 3M Failed Soldiers By Selling Earplugs They Knew Were Defective To The Military | 6/20/2019
• Service Members Have Needlessly Lost Hearing Due to 3M's Fraud, Deceit, and Deception | 6/11/2019
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• Service Members Experience Hearing Loss From Defective Earplugs | 5/14/2019
• Army Servicemen Are Filing Hearing Loss Claims Against Earplug Maker 3M | 5/9/2019
• Hearing Loss From Defective Army Earplugs On The Frontlines and The Practice Range | 5/1/2019
• Hearing Loss Can Be A Deadly Battlefield Injury | 4/26/2019
• Servicemen Describe Hearing Loss Caused By The 3M Army Earplug | 4/22/2019
• The False Claims Act website helps whistleblower anonymously come forward easily and without fear of reprisals by their superiors | 4/15/2019
• Hundreds Of Army Earplug Lawsuits Consolidated in Federal Court | 4/9/2019
• Soldiers Are Filing Claims Against 3M Army Earplugs | 4/8/2019
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• Whistleblower Reports Defective 3M Army Earplugs | 4/2/2019
• Service Member Suffer Tinnitus From Defective 3M Army Earplugs | 3/29/2019

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Lawsuits for Defective 3M Earplugs

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