By Tony Smith for The
Register.
This article has been reproduced with permission.
The plaintiff, John Kiel Patterson, is seeking unspecified
compensatory damages presumably for hearing loss he may have
suffered, though the lawsuit, filed with the San Jose District
Court, doesn't say as much, according to the Associated Press'
report on the matter.
Patterson wants the suit given class-action status. He also
wants the court to force Apple to "upgrade" the iPod to make it
safer.
The lawsuit maintains that iPods can generate sound in excess of
115dB enough to harm hearing if ears are exposed to it for
long periods of time.
Patterson claims he bought an iPod a year ago. That's about the
time this reporter picked up a Shuffle for his missus, and a quick
peek at the user guide reveals the following:
"Warning Permanent hearing loss may occur if
earbuds or headphones are used at high volume. You can adapt over
time to a higher volume of sound, which may sound normal but can be
damaging to your hearing. Set your iPod Shuffle to a safe level
before that happens. If you experience ringing in your ears, reduce
the volume or discontinue use of your iPod Shuffle."
The emphasis there is Apple's. Of course, it doesn't define what
a "safe level" is, but given the huge number of warnings put out by
the medical profession as to the dangers of listening to personal
music devices since the launch of Sony's Walkman in the late 1970s,
you'd have thought people would have got the message by now.
And having read Apple's user guide, Patterson surely would have
long ago been aware of the risk and, quite reasonably, returned his
iPod to the store from which he bought it. Or maybe not...
Curiously, the lawsuit mentions that Apple tweaked the output of
iPods sold in France in order to reduce the devices' maximum
volume. That's true, but it did so because there's a law there that
specifically mandates such a move. In the US, there is no
equivalent law, we understand.
© The Register
2006
