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Apple sued after amber alert sound on airpods allegedly caused hearing loss
Texas parents are suing Apple after an "ear-shattering" amber alert sound on AirPods allegedly caused permanent damage to their son's hearing.
SAN JOSE, Calif. - Parents in Texas are suing Apple for gross negligence and fraud after their son experienced hearing loss – allegedly caused by an Amber Alert on its AirPods earbuds.
The plaintiffs, parents Carlos Gordoa and Ariani Reyes, and their son, identified as B.G., claimed that the AirPods were defective because they "failed to automatically reduce or limit notification and/or alert volumes," according to a lawsuit filed Monday in a federal court in San Jose.
The son, who was 12 at the time, was watching Netflix on his phone in May 2020 and wearing his earbuds in his right ear when an Amber Alert produced an "ear-shattering" sound, according to the lawsuit.
The parents claimed that the loud noise "ripped open" their son's right eardrum, leaving him with permanent hearing loss, vertigo, and dizziness, according to the lawsuit.
"We are very sad, frustrated, and we are also a little bit angry," said Reyes in a video statement. "Because he was just a regular, healthy, athletic boy and his life has changed."
B.G. was a soccer player and was "doing well in his soccer journey", said Reyes, but the injury made a negative impact.
"This boy’s life has been severely altered because Apple did not provide a warning about the volume levels of its AirPods, leading to his permanent hearing loss," Tej Paranjpe from PMR, one of the lawyers for the family said in a statement. "Had Apple designed the AirPods to self-adjust to safe levels or provided warnings about the volume increases associated with alerts, this boy would be living a normal life."
Apple did not immediately respond to KTVU's request for comment.
The company has also not responded in court.