3M’s stock surges after company says 90% of earplug plaintiffs had ‘normal’ hearing

Shares of 3M Co. surged Wednesday after the maker of consumer, industrial and healthcare products said the U.S. Department of Defense’s records show that the “vast majority” of claimants in litigation over the company’s Combat Arms earplugs have normal hearing under medically accepted standards.

The company, which also makes Post-it Notes, N95 masks and Scotch tape, said the DOD data show that almost 90% of the 175,000 plaintiffs in the earplug litigation have “no hearing impairment” under American Medical Association standards.

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