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Apple Sued Over Potential Hearing Loss

Posted by Zonk on from the so-turn-it-down dept.

freaktheclown writes "A man is suing Apple, claiming that the iPod can cause hearing loss for those who use it." From the article: "The iPod players are 'inherently defective in design and are not sufficiently adorned with adequate warnings regarding the likelihood of hearing loss,' according to the complaint, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in San Jose, Calif., on behalf of John Kiel Patterson of Louisiana. The suit, which Patterson wants certified as a class-action, seeks compensation for unspecified damages and upgrades that will make iPods safer."

2 of 754 comments (clear)

  1. Playing Devil's Advocate... by SerpentMage · · Score: 0, Troll

    As much as I would like to agree with you, I think he has a case for one reason...

    In the early days headphones sat on the side of your head and let in other noise. However, with the IPod ear buds fit 100% percent into your ear. This means you get music and only music. I saw a news article in German that said because the ear buds fit tightly and do not let other noise in you are subject to the noise of the ear buds.

    The short and curly of it. Even if you put the noise level REALLY low you could get hearing impaired...

    --

    "You can't make a race horse of a pig"
    "No," said Samuel, "but you can make very fast pig"
    1. Re:Playing Devil's Advocate... by StopSayingYouSir · · Score: 0, Troll
      In order to cause damage, the volume has to be high enough to hurt.

      This is absolutely not true, as others have pointed out. Permanent hearing loss can occur at much lower volumes than that.

      Everyone who is harping about "common sense" should take note of the parent post. Common sense is often very, very wrong.

      And yes, there is a point at which common sense finally catches up with reality, and as we approach that point, responsibility begins to shift back onto the consumer. But that isn't what concerns me.

      People who manufacture audio equipment are expected to know more than the average person about the conditions under which permanent hearing loss can occur. If their product is capable of producing these conditions, they have a duty to warn the consumer. I don't see what's so controversial about that.

      Although frankly, even this strikes me as insufficient. So what if I know that exceeding 85 dB is dangerous? What's 85 dB? How do I know when I've reached it? My volume control only goes from 0 to 10... That means I'm safe, right??? :)