The Ministry of Defence (MoD) is confronting a staggering potential compensation bill of up to £50 billion for causing permanent hearing damage to thousands of service personnel over many decades.
A Legacy of Neglect and Its Staggering Cost
Court documents have revealed that senior military officials were repeatedly warned about the risks of hearing loss but failed to act adequately. The MoD has now admitted breaching its duty of care to troops. With at least 70,000 veterans believed to be affected, some left profoundly deaf and unable to work, the financial implications are colossal.
In a High Court hearing in December, MoD barrister David Platt KC warned that if half of those affected received just £150,000 each, the cost would reach billions. "I made it £50 billion," he stated, emphasising that this sum would consume the military budget, devastating Britain's frontline defence capabilities.
Personal Stories of Damage and Delay
The human cost of this institutional failure is stark. Former Royal Fusilier Stephen Hambridge described being issued just one pair of foam earplugs for two tours of Afghanistan. "They soon got dropped in the dirt, and you can’t use them with the radios," he said. He only received proper silicone in-ear defenders with radio transmitters after 107 days stationed next to rows of mortars, by which point it was too late.
For context, a live music concert reaches around 110 decibels (dB). The British armed forces' mortars can hit 185dB, a level where tissue death is certain without protection, far above the 120dB human pain threshold.
The Legal Battle and a Looming Deadline
The group litigation, representing 12,000 veterans, began in 2021. After years of negotiation, a deal was agreed last year to compensate those with claims dating back to 1987. A High Court judgement on the extent of negligence and damages is expected next month.
However, the MoD is now seeking to limit its future liability. A critical deadline of 31 January has been set. Claims made after this date will be restricted to injuries sustained since 2022, long after the Afghanistan withdrawal, potentially betraying a generation of veterans.
Simon Ellis of Hugh James solicitors, acting for the veterans, said: "These are people in their 30s who need specialised hearing aids... The MoD was forced to admit it breached its duty of care. Now it’s seeking to limit future claims because to pay for all of its wrongdoing would bankrupt it."
Shockingly, internal MoD reports, including one from 2012, indicate that hearing loss rates in the infantry have shown no statistically significant improvement since studies dating back to 1965, despite advances in protective technology.
