SOLDIERS who took part in a local mock battle are making compensation claims for defective hearing from gun noise after complaining about inadequate Army ear plugs, a tribunal has been told.

Scores of troopers in the Queen’s Royal Hussars took part in the “battle” at the Castlemartin training area in south Pembrokeshire to prepare them for the war in Afghanistan. Complaints about inadequate ear protection were made by former soldier Philip Goodman as he made a successful appeal for compensation at a War & Armed Forces Tribunal at Birmingham. Mr Goodman was a trooper in the Queen’s Royal Hussars when his regiment was told they were going to Afghanistan.

To prepare them for the war in Afghanistan they took part in the Pembroke mock battle. But Mr Goodman complained that the ear protection device used to protect the soldiers from deafness during gun blasts, slipped out of his left ear as he prepared to shoot at “enemy” targets. He said the devices were inadequate and that he did not have time to protect his hearing before his colleagues started shooting – causing a combined blast of noise. “As a result I became deaf in my left ear and although I went to Afghanistan with the others I was brought back after only three weeks,” he said.

Mr Goodman, aged 29, said that on his return the Army replaced the inadequate ear plugs with new and improved ones but by then it was too late to save his deaf ear. After numerous examinations on his ear he was discharged from the Army on medical grounds in 2013. Mr Goodman who was represented at the tribunal by the Royal British Legion, said that apart from making an appeal for compensation for his deaf ear he also sought compensation for a bad back caused during Army exercises.

A medical report on his deafness and his back was shown to the tribunal. Miss Alex Hocking, representing Veterans UK, challenged the claims. The tribunal told Mr Goodman that his appeal had been successful and that the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme would be told to pay him an “appropriate amount,” to be decided at a later date. But his compensation claim for his back was rejected. Mr Goodman said after the hearing that he was delighted with the outcome but said he had no idea how much he would be awarded. He agreed the ear plugs previously used by the Army had not been good enough and had since been replaced with different ones.”

“Other soldiers complained they kept slipping out of the ears and some of them are making compensation claims similar to my own,” he said. “I spent five years in the Army and loved the life. I planned to make it my career but I left after what happened. “I got a job in call centre after leaving the Army and I am now working for British Telecom.” An Army spokesman said; “This Government recognises that our Armed Forces do a challenging and sometimes dangerous job and it is vital that those who are injured receive the compensation and support they deserve through the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme.”