Defence chiefs have been forced to pay out £150 million in compensation to troops and former members of the Armed Forces who claim their hearing was damaged by military service. Close to 10,000 serving and former members of the Armed Forces have been compensated for hearing loss since 2012, figures obtained by The Telegraph show.
The compensation figure for 2022-23 was the highest for 10 years, with the Ministry of Defence paying out £31.7 million to 1,706 personnel who proved they had developed hearing problems from military service. This is up from £9.2 million in compensation for 846 personnel in 2021-22, according to a freedom of information request. The amount paid out in compensation would be enough to buy 37 Challenger 2 tanks – which cost around £4 million each – or almost two F-35 jets, which cost around £80 million each.
Earlier this year it emerged that the MoD had also been forced to pay out more than £160 million for troops who have developed non-freezing cold injuries. It has sparked accusations that the military is failing to properly train staff on health and safety measures, only to pay out for it in the long run.
Col Phil Ingram, a former Army intelligence officer, told The Telegraph: “The MoD is its own worst enemy when it comes to looking after its people. It fails to ensure the correct equipment is provided in the first place, which then sets the conditions for the creation of a compensation culture and this is only going to get worse. The vast majority of these cases are probably avoidable. The MoD must ensure that soldiers are properly trained, issued with the correct equipment and must be made aware of the pitfalls of inadequate ear protection.”
MoD sources said a surge in payments last year was down to an increased awareness that troops with hearing issues could claim compensation following advertising by lawyers. Troops blamed the MoD for noise-induced hearing loss either because they did not receive the correct training or because no ear protection was provided. The vast majority of the payouts are for common law claims, which means the MoD was effectively sued by military personnel.
The MoD routinely opposes many claims made by veterans experiencing hearing loss, arguing other sources of noise are to blame or that individuals should have worn issued protection. However, it announced last month that thousands more ex-servicemen and women will receive compensation for hearing loss suffered during training or combat.
A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: “We take the health and well-being of our personnel seriously and always look at how we can reduce noise levels in their working environment. This includes providing training and protective equipment. Service personnel take regular hearing tests to detect any early signs of hearing loss and action is taken if necessary to reduce their exposure levels.”
Dr. Iain Overton, Director of Action on Armed Violence (AOAV), commented on the issue: “This compensation payout highlights a serious oversight in the protection of our service members. The fact that so many have had to suffer long-term health consequences due to inadequate training and equipment is unacceptable. It is essential that the Ministry of Defence addresses these failures and ensures that no more service members are put at unnecessary risk.”
This revelation comes as historic data shows the percentage of British Army service personnel who have been medically discharged for mental and behavioural disorders has increased some 318% in a decade. Overall, in a decade, the proportion of Tri-service discharges – Royal Navy, Army and Air Force – for mental health concerns have collectively also risen by some 245%.
The marked rise in mental health-related discharges was highlighted in a reply to a parliamentary question by Owen Thompson, the Scottish National Party MP. The Ministry of Defence released figures that showed in 2012/13, some 263 of 2,359 service personnel discharged from the armed forces were for mental health issues – 11%. In 2021/22, 38% of all discharges were for such issues – 505 of 1,321 discharges.
In terms of actual troop numbers, this was an increase of 92% – some 242. In the same period, the total number of troops discharged for all reasons went down from 2,359 in 2012/13 to 1,038 in 2021/22. A decade ago, some 11% of medical discharges in the Army were for mental health reasons, with 10% and 15% in the Navy and RAF respectively. In 2021/22, this had risen to 46%, 26%, and 43% respectively.
The fact that almost half of all recent discharges today in the Army are for mental health reasons possibly reflects a fact that a decade ago ongoing overseas land conflicts meant discharges for physical injury from combat were more likely. In response to the MOD statement in response to his question, Owen Thompson said that “these figures need examined more closely to better understand the reasons for the rise in medical discharges due to mental and behavioural disorders, but one thing that’s clear is the need for improvements in support for the mental health of men and women in the armed forces, both during and after service.”
“I have been campaigning for improvements to the processes for veterans’ support and many veterans with conditions like complex PTSD have told me they feel let down by an unsympathetic system,” Thompson said. “They say the lengthy, complex battle they face with Veterans UK to prove their case for the financial compensation they are due has worsened their mental health, leaving many in despair – that should be a national scandal.”
A report a few years ago by King’s Centre for Military Health Research on the mental health of the UK Armed Forces found that there had been a moderate increase in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in recent years in the forces, mainly amongst ex-service personnel. Major General Michael von Bertele, former Director General of the Army Medical Services, 2009-2012, said of the figures that they reflect “a revolution in the way service personnel are both encouraged to report difficulties, and the seriousness with which those conditions are now treated.”
“It is too early to attribute numbers diagnosed with any increased exposure to stressful experiences, but treatment of personnel with those disorders has improved exponentially over the last 20 years, based largely on ground-breaking research conducted in partnership with Kings College, London.”
The UK Armed Forces Mental Health Annual Summary showed that in 2021/22, one in eight military personnel from the UK Armed Forces were seen in military healthcare for a mental health related reason. One in 43 (2.3%) were seen by a specialist mental health clinician in the same period. The Government’s response towards improving the mental health of the UK Armed Forces and those that served has included the launching of Op Courage in 2021, a new mental health service for veterans. This is part of the Veteran Strategy Plan set out by the Government which has to date provided at least £3 million towards mental health and £15 million for Armed Forces charities.
Action on Armed Violence calls on the Ministry of Defence to launch a full and transparent inquiry into mental health in the British military, examining the impact of numerous overseas military engagement on serving personnel and veterans.
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