Former Royal Marine wins £700,000 over hearing loss

Ministry of Defence claims James Barry had not used ear protection properly were rejected

A former Royal Marine has been awarded more than £700,000 in compensation over hearing damage caused during training.

James Barry, 34, from Nottingham, took action over his "exposure to noise during service" between 2013 and 2017.

He said his noise-induced hearing loss and tinnitus was due to not having proper training or suitable protection.

At the High Court in London, Ministry of Defence (MoD) claims of "contributory negligence" were rejected and Mr Barry was awarded £713,715.

The High Court was told James Barry felt embarrassed and stigmatised over his hearing problems

Mr Barry's legal team had said hearing problems first appeared after returning from an exercise in the US in 2014.

Yellow foam ear inserts provided were inadequate and unsuitable to use because they fell out and did not provide situational awareness, a written submission said.

The legal team also said hearing problems were acknowledged by the MoD in hearing tests, but they continued to send him on exercises and subject him to unprotected noise exposure.

Mr Barry was medically downgraded in 2015 and was forced to leave the Royal Marines in February 2017 because of his hearing problems.

He told the court he was embarrassed to have suffered hearing loss at such a young age and felt stigmatised to the extent that he was reluctant to wear a hearing aid or to tell others about his difficulties.

The MoD had admitted "primary liability" but alleged Mr Barry had not used ear plugs properly.

Mr Justice Johnson concluded the responsibility for the hearing problems of Mr Barry overwhelmingly fell on the MoD.

He noted "the problems were well known by the MoD (as demonstrated by the evidence of the witness, and also the documentation from 2012) but, lamentably, it appears that nothing was done by the MoD to address the obvious and serious problem.".

An MoD spokesperson said: "The health and wellbeing of our people is always our priority.

"We carefully assess noise levels and provide hearing protection when asking personnel to undertake duties in noisy environments.

"We note the outcome and will consider the judgment."