Apple iPOD Sued for ‘Hearing Loss’

John Kiel Patterson, a Louisiana man has reportedly filed a lawsuit claiming that Apple’s iPod music player can cause loss of hearing to its users.

According to the complaint, Apple iPods can produce sounds of more than 115 decibels, a volume to which if exposed to more than 28 seconds per day, can damage the hearing of a person. The complaint goes on to say that the players, inherently defective in design are not sufficiently adorned with adequate warnings regarding the likelihood of hearing loss.

The suit goes on to say that Patterson bought an iPod last year but does not specify whether he did suffer hearing loss as a result of using the device. Moreover, Patterson does not know if the device has in fact damaged his hearing but according to his attorney, Steve W. Berman, that is beside the point of the lawsuit. The point being the potential the iPod has to cause irreparable hearing loss!

Patterson wants the suit certified as a class-action and is seeking compensation for unspecified damages.

The lawsuit mentions that Apple was forced to pull the iPod from store shelves in France and upgrade software on the device to limit sound to 100 decibels and that the company has not taken the same steps in the United States. The complaint also mentions that the ear buds, which ship with the iPod, do not dilute the sound entering the ear and are closer to the ear canal than other sound sources and hence also contribute to noise-induced hearing loss.

Apple has sold more than 42 million of the devices since they went on sale in 2001, including 14 million in the fourth quarter last year.