Apple Sued Over Child’s Hearing Damage Linked to Amber Alert and AirPods Pro

AirPod Pro - Image via Apple

19 MAY 2022 - Did you hear about the family suing Apple over a kid’s ruptured eardrum? Citing a report from NBC News, a piece from Engadget says, “a couple from Texas filed the suit,” saying that “their then 12-year-old son (…) was using AirPods [Pro] to watch something on his iPhone at a low volume when he received an Amber Alert.” The suit says the alert "went off suddenly, and without warning, at a volume that tore apart [the 12-year-old’s] ear drum, damaged his cochlea and caused significant injuries…”

I found myself wondering whether a loud noise could actually rupture an eardrum. The answer seems to be “yes,” but it would have to be really loud. According to the site BetterHearingofAustin:

A sudden very loud noise can cause an eardrum to tear or rupture. The noise intensity to rupture an eardrum would have to be very loud, usually 165 decibels or more. This would correspond to the sound intensity of a gunshot at close range, fireworks or extremely loud music.

At the same time, the site for the Mayo Clinic lists “Loud sounds or blasts (acoustic trauma)” as a possible cause. According to the site:

A loud sound or blast, as from an explosion or gunshot — essentially an overpowering sound wave — can rarely cause a tear in the eardrum.

For their part, the Texas couple claims that:

…AirPods don't “automatically reduce, control, limit or increment notification or alert volumes to a safe level (…)” and that Apple doesn't provide instructions to limit the volume of alerts to prevent hearing damage.

No word in the piece on what sort of legal damages the couple is seeking. Apple did not offer comment for the NBC News report, nor - it seems - for Engadget.