More than 235,000 plaintiffs allege 3M’s combat earplugs cause hearing loss or ringing of the ears, but newly released records for 175,000 of them suggest the “vast majority” of U.S. military service members making those claims have normal hearing.
3M subsidiary Aearo Technologies, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last year due to massive liability tied to the earplugs, cited the U.S. Department of Defense data in a motion on Tuesday asking to estimate the value of the claims to confirm a Chapter 11 reorganization plan.
