A pair of Apple-sold AirPods would have deafened a child. The result: Apple is now in a lawsuit. Read more in this article.
Family lawsuit against Apple: hearing damage
Apple is facing a lawsuit. A family claims their son’s hearing was permanently damaged when an Amber Alert came in through their AirPods Pro at too high a volume. The son was quietly watching Netflix when his iPhone played the deafening noise on his earphones. According to the child’s parents, he will have to wear a hearing aid for the rest of his life.
What is the lawsuit based on?
The striking thing: the child had only one earpiece in, but the sudden loud noise still caused tinnitus and nausea. The family’s lawyer explains that the lawsuit is mainly about the errors surrounding the production of the AirPods from Apple (and production company Luxshare)
He believes that Apple has not tested the AirPods well enough for unexpected sounds and that the earbuds are therefore not well produced. If the work had been done properly, the child would now ‘live a normal life’, according to the lawyer. Apple has not yet commented on the incident.
The family is seeking damages for the boy’s physical damage, pain and suffering, disability, mental anguish, emotional trauma and future medical expenses. They also want Apple to be punished as a ‘failing producer’ in general.
Not the first AirPods user with complaints
The problem does not seem new to Apple. They have also reportedly received other complaints about the AirPods Pro. According to the hearing loss lawyer, Apple was aware of these design flaws through these complaints, but has not acted.
In the papers surrounding the lawsuit inform the lawyer that other users of the Apple AirPods have already complained in large numbers. As of April 12, 2019, Apple has ignored these comments at least 1,538 times. Whether this was conscious remains to be seen. At least we know that this lawsuit is far from over.