The AirPods of Apple broke a 12-year-old boy's eardrums in 2020 when a loud Amber Alert was issued, according to a lawsuit filed against the tech giant in California.
The child, referred to as B.W., was allegedly watching a Netflix movie on his iPhone in 2020 while wearing AirPods Pro. Although these were reportedly set to low volume, suddenly an Amber Alert sounded and the noise destroyed his ear drums.
The lawsuit alleges that the Amber Alert "ruptured" his ear drum, damaged his cochlea and caused injuries to his hearing. Since then, he has allegedly suffered from dizzy spells, vertigo, tinnitus and nausea, and there is permanent hearing loss in his right ear, resulting in him wearing a hearing aid.
Thus, Apple is accused of producing "defective" AirPods that do not automatically reduce the volume of notifications. According to the lawsuit, Apple did not include warnings about the potential issue and was aware of the alleged design flaws.
Because of this loss, according to the complaint, B.W. has suffered significant temporary and permanent injuries, pain, suffering and disability. He has suffered mental anguish, emotional trauma, physical injury, has lost his ability to live a normal life and will continue to live a life with limitations in the future, including a diminished earning capacity. Still, B.W. has medical bills related to the care he needs and related to his injuries.
The lawsuit seeks damages for B.W. and his parents, who are suffering from severe emotional distress caused by the AirPods incident. It seeks "damages in amounts that would punish the defendants for their conduct and that would deter other technology companies from engaging in this type of misconduct in the future."
