Lawsuit claims AirPods ruptured the eardrums of one user

What you need to know

Apple is facing a new lawsuit in California.
The lawsuit alleges that an Amber Alert played through a set of AirPods Pro ruptured the eardrums of one user.
The lawsuit is seeking damages from the company.

Amber Alerts are really loud.

Apple is being sued over the volume level of Amber Alerts in its AirPods.

As reported by Law360 (via MacRumors), someone has filed a lawsuit claiming that their twelve-year-old suffered ruptured eardrums when an Amber Alert sound played through his AirPods.

The child, identified as B.G. in the filing, was watching a movie on Netflix on his iPhone in 2020 while wearing AirPods Pro. The AirPods Pro were allegedly set at a low volume, but an Amber Alert sounded without warning and the high-pitched noise damaged B.G.’s eardrums.

The lawsuit claims that the Amber Alert “tore apart” B.G.’s eardrum, damaged his cochlea, and caused injuries to his hearing. He has since suffered from bouts of dizziness, vertigo, tinnitus, and nausea, and there is permanent hearing loss in his right ear, requiring him to wear a hearing aid.

The lawsuit claims that Apple knowingly sold “defective” AirPods that would not properly consider the current volume of the earbuds when alerts or notifications came through.

As a direct and proximate result of each and all Defendants’ negligence in designing, manufacturing, and marketing the defective AirPods, B.G. has suffered significant temporary and permanent, continuous injuries, pain and suffering, disability, and impairment. B.G. has suffered mental anguish, emotional trauma, physical harm, injuries, disability, and impairment in the past and that will continue into the future. B.G. has lost his ability to live a normal life, and he will continue to live a diminished life into the future, including a diminished earning capacity. Furthermore, B.G. has medical bills both past and future related to care arising from and relating to the injuries suffered as a result of the defective AirPods.

While you can not currently set the volume for an Amber Alert, you can turn it off in the Settings app in certain countries.