A soldier who claimed up to £30,000 from the State for hearing loss allegedly induced by gunfire noise has lost a Civil Circuit Court action for damages.
Cpl James Anthony Redmond (46), of The Close, Millbrook Lawns, Co Dublin, said the hearing in his left ear had deteriorated since joining the Defence Forces in 1970.
He said he also suffered from tinnitus.
Cpl Redmond said he had been exposed to gunfire noise throughout his military career without the aid of hearing protection.
Mr John Boland, counsel for the Minister for Defence, said it was accepted Cpl Redmond had suffered a hearing loss, but not at the frequencies normally associated with gunfire-induced noise.
Judge Frank O'Donnell, dismissing Cpl Redmond's claim, said he accepted the medical evidence pointing to hearing loss induced by factors, including age, other than firearms noise.
It was the first case in which the State has succeeded in convincing a court that the hearing loss was at a lower range of frequency than that generally associated by medical experts with gunfire-induced noise.