The tech giant Apple is facing a new lawsuit filed by the parents of a teenage boy who allegedly suffered the permanent hearing loss while using his AirPods to watch Netflix.
A 12-year-old had his eardrum ripped apart by the volume of an Amber Alert coming through his AirPods, according to a lawsuit filed this week against Apple.
As per his parents’ lawsuit, the teen was watching Netflix on his AirPods at a low volume in May 2020. The Amber Alert notification went off without warning at a volume that ripped apart the teen’s eardrums. The sound caused significant damage to his hearing and health including severe hearing loss in his right ear, dizziness, vertigo, and nausea.
The alert made ear-shattering sound levels that ripped open the right eardrum of B.G and damaged his cochlea during an Amber Alert notification, according to the complaint filed on Monday. This affected the teen to suffer from significant hearing loss, other temporary or permanent damages, disabilities, suffering, and pain that lead to the loss of the life’s pleasures. The teen is identified only as B.G. His parents claim he now needs to wear a hearing aid.
His parents have filed a lawsuit against Apple and AirPods supplier Luxshare-ICT in federal court. The family’s legal team claims the AirPods are defective, and that Apple and its supplier were irresponsible, leading to B.G.’s hearing loss.
The AirPods the boy was wearing on May 17, 2020 was purchased from an Apple Store on November 29, 2019, according to the complaint. They were bought new and no repairs or alterations had been made.
They believe the AirPods are defective in design and manufacturing or a lack of warnings and instructions were not provided for unreasonable risks.
According to the lawsuit, the teen will require a hearing aid for the rest of his life, as well as regular doctor checkups, testing, and monitoring. His family is seeking a jury trial and at least $75,000 in damages claiming that Apple and its supplier are responsible for B.G.’s injuries and the emotional stress his family has since endured.
