The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has agreed to extend a deadline for armed forces personnel to secure compensation for their hearing loss under the ‘Matrix Agreement’ by six months, through to the end of July.
At a trial of ‘test’ claimants in December last year, the MoD’s lawyer stated that the total bill for such claims could be £50bn. It is thought that at least 70,000 personnel may be eligible for compensation for damage to their hearing sustained whilst in the armed forces.
The agreement, known as the military hearing loss settlement ‘matrix’, has paved the way for thousands of service personnel to secure payouts. They have suffered damage to their hearing which has had a major impact on their private and family lives and seriously inhibited the range of post-service employment they are capable of.
Once the High Court has ratified the extension, claims submitted before 31st July 2026 will be considered under the terms of the ‘matrix’ secured by lawyers at the firm Hugh James.
Simon Ellis, Partner and Head of our Military department, who has been leading the military hearing loss action in the High Court on behalf of 24,000 current claimants said,
‘We welcome that the MoD has agreed to extend the deadline, which will help thousands of ex-service personnel receive the compensation they deserve, quickly and without the stress of a long, drawn-out legal process. I’d urge any ex-service personnel who suffered hearing damage while serving their country, and have yet to make a claim, to come forward now. This is the case even if they have been rejected by the MoD’s War Pension Scheme or Armed Forces Compensation Scheme which, when they do accept claims, often results in totally inadequate payments.’
Awards made under the matrix are likely to be far in excess of the MoD schemes, which often lead to awards of as little as £6,000.
Unlike the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme, legal action allows service personnel to claim for loss of earnings in the years since their military noise induced hearing loss developed.
Recent settlements secured for our clients include £550,000 for Stephen Hambridge, who served with the Royal Fusiliers, and £182,250 for former Royal Engineer Andrew Davies. These followed the award of more than £700,000 for James Barry, a former Royal Marine, following an earlier trial.
The trial involving a handful of service personnel acting as ‘test’ cases ended in December 2025. The trial judge had to consider the guidelines to diagnosing and assessing the extent of noise induced hearing loss and the level of damages that might be awarded in future settlements.
The previous deadline was set for 31 January 2026, however the judgment for the ‘test cases’ is not due until Spring this year. The deadline extension will mean the trial Judge’s ruling can be considered by all parties when deciding how much compensation each claimant is due.
Claims can still be submitted after the new July deadline, but the process for securing compensation outside the Matrix agreement is likely to be more onerous and take much longer to complete.
The Matrix agreement also ensures the MoD will not dispute key elements of any claim as a result of the MoD accepting under the agreement that they had a duty of care to service personnel and abandoning any defence of ‘limitation’ (that claims had been brought too late).
