AirPods Pro: a customer files a complaint because his headphones made him hard of hearing

Wearing headphones to listen to music all day isdangerous for the ears, especially if the listening volume is high. A phenomenon of hearing fatigue is created on the one hand, on the other hand, high volumes can damage the eardrum and/or affect the inner part of the ear. And the damage can unfortunately be irreversible.

In the case of today's news item, it was the eardrums that were damaged in a young AirPods Pro user, who still suffers from the trauma, 2 years later...

A kidnapping alert causes a hearing shock

It is in fact a question of a complaint filed in 2020 in the United States and having resurfaced yesterday, a complaint against Apple for a malfunction of the AirPods Pro having led to perforation of the user's eardrums.

The victim, nicknamed BG to protect his identity, is said to be suffering from severe hearing loss, balance problems and depression following the accident. The child would not even have set the volume of the AirPods Pro to too high a sound level. According to his family, he was watching a movie on Netflix quietly, when suddenly, a notification came with aextremely high volume, notification from the American kidnapping alert system “Amber Alert”. This notification would have damaged both the eardrum and the cochlea in both ears of the young boy. The reported consequences are serious. The trauma was so severe that the victim must now wear hearing aids.

Apple accused of malfunction

Apple is therefore directly incriminated in this matter. The victim's family accuses the Cupertino company ofmalfunction concerning AirPods Pro. Amber system alerts should not be issued with such a loud noise level, which poses great danger to users.

Moreover, this is not the first time that users have complained about too high a level of these emergency notifications, as our colleagues at MacRumors point out. This is therefore a case which could set a precedent and perhaps push Apple, or those responsible for Amber alerts, to correct the situation.

We take advantage of this news to encourage you topay close attention to your hearing. Our ears are fragile, don't hesitate to take breaks during the day if you often wear AirPods or other headphones and earphones. And if you can, take advantage of the noise reduction feature, which allows you to hear your music or podcast correctly even in a noisy environment. Without, therefore, having to increase the listening volume and potentially hurting your ears.