Apple is facing a new lawsuit from a family that claims their son’s hearing was permanently damaged when an Amber Alert played through his AirPods Pro at an excessive volume. In a press release published by Paranjpe Mahadass Ruemke Law Firm, the parents explained that their son was watching Netflix on his iPhone when an Amber Alert played at an “ear-shattering” volume and he will now be required to “wear a hearing aid for the rest of his life.”
As first reported by Street Insider, the family is suing Apple as well as its manufacturing partner Luxshare. The lawsuit accuses the companies of “negligence and fraud for failing to properly design and test the devices, failing to warn users that the earbuds are prone to rapid and unexpected increases in ear volume, and failing to properly manufacture the AirPods.”
The family said that the son was watching Netflix with one AirPod in his right ear when an Amber Alert played at “ear-shattering sound levels.” The sound level of the Amber Alert was so loud that it led to nausea, dizziness, vertigo, and tinnitus. “He will have to wear a hearing aid for the rest of his life,” according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit goes on to say that Apple failed to design AirPods such that they “self-adjust to safe levels or provided warnings about the volume increases associated with alerts.” Had Apple done this, the “boy would be living a normal life,” the family said.
Apple is also accused of having received “numerous complaints” from other AirPods Pro users:
Defendants, and each of them, were aware of and knew about the design, manufacturing, or marketing defects affecting the AirPods via numerous complaints – prior to and after the occurrence made the basis of this lawsuit – by AirPod wearers about the sudden and unexpected increase(s) in sound volume during notifications or alerts that soared to dangerous, injurious levels but chose to intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly ignore the issue(s) at least 1538 times as of April 12, 2019.
Through the lawsuit, the family is seeking damages for the boy’s physical harm, pain and suffering, disability, mental anguish, emotional trauma, and future medical expenses as well as punitive damages against Apple.
The full lawsuit can be found below. Apple has not commented or responded to the case.
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