Well I'm not going to post my license on a online forum but I have a Doctorate in Audiology and I'm also a physician assistant. So do with that what you will.
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Apple Facing Lawsuit After AirPods Allegedly Ruptured Child's Eardrums With Amber Alert
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Well I'm not going to post my license on a online forum but I have a Doctorate in Audiology and I'm also a physician assistant. So do with that what you will.
This is by design an Internet forum for the masses to use as anonymously as they like.
I find it rather rich that you feel the need to demand users provide proof of their credentials upon your personal request.
Sure, use whatever expert source you want. Nobody is providing proof and I hazard a guess nobody cares what anybody accepts as absolute evidence.
No proof then it's just words so yes I will take it as I will, the CDC and the WHO, yes.. you, No
Because the CDC and WHO have been so truthful lately.
I was wondering about this myself - seeing as every device I know of does this (play at full volume) - my suspicion is that there is a law or FCC order or something similar mandating this and/or setting a minimum volume - but have not found the text - have you been able to find anything directly on this issue?
Beyond that, I then wonder whether the hardware provider or the cell provider determines things like the volume level - I would not be surprised with either.
Then it comes to whether Apple has a choice in playing through the AirPods - is that too some legal requirement - I can definitely see an over zealous law requiring “Wireless Emergency Alerts must play via the active interface (if any) at maximum possible volume or volume not to be less than 120dB”
Such a law for instance would clearly not be a design flaw but a legal one.
That all said - I would imagine Apple will settle regardless of anything else just because it is likely a discussion Apple doesn’t want to be happening - I.e. Is it possible that AirPods could destroy my kid’s hearing? - how can they possibly be happy with that going around - and it only takes so many lost sales before it is cheaper to settle than to take the continuing hit to their sales…
The one thing I think we can all agree on is that Amber Alerts are definitely too loud under some circumstances and it would be awesome for that issue to be addressed.
Sounds good to me, Apple just robbed this kid's dream to become a professional audiophile.
My problem with this whole discussion is there's a lot of assumptions going on:
- Do Amber alerts always go through AirPods? Some have suggested this isn't the case. I do wear AirPods a lot for conference calls and IIRC the alert might have gone through the phone. I also can't fully remember because it's been months since the last major warning. However I do remember having conference calls when alerts come through and I always remember people asking "can you repeat what you just said? We all just got an Amber alert." Had the complaint been "my eardrum is broken" I think I'd remember that pretty well.
- Do Amber alerts play at full volume? Not 100% clear about that either. Modern phones can be extremely loud. I've never really cranked iPhones to max volume playing music because it's way too loud. In my memory of Amber Alerts, they're loud, but not necessary full volume (phone speaker).
- In all the Amber alerts I've gotten I don't recall them going through my AirPods at full volume. If this is the expected behavior, this lawsuit wouldn't be the first one. We would've had lawsuits starting in 2017.
Tragic! Pay up Apple and add settings so users can manually set their own volume level.
"Listening or watching in high volumes through your AirPods can be immersive, but we all know that it can be a tad bit harmful. With that, Apple has placed volume limits to cap maximum volume and prevent potential hearing damages."
Elsewhere someone claimed "Amber alerts ignore a phones volume if it’s not on silent." I looked for reducing the volume for Amber alerts and all I found for iPhone or Android was how to turn it off. This seems to confirm this claim.
I can't find out what the maximum volume cap is but I suspect it is below that threshold.
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Hearing loss damages that Apple helped prevent refer to long term exposure to high sound. In other words, exposing your eardrums to +80 dB in noise constantly over days, weeks or months will cause long term ear damage. AirPods can easily reach and exceed those levels.
The type of damage referenced in the suit is related to instant damage which occurs only at extreme dB levels which AirPods are very likely not able to reach.
There are settings to set volume. The problem is Amber seems to bypass those settings.
I've been woken up in the middle of the night for 'Flood Warning Seek High Ground ASAP' but it sounds like the sound associated with a tornado warning which is far more likely around here. We do NOT get floods here. The stupid weather service in Paducah, KY thinks any rain amount over a 1/2 inch is the same as the Katrina flood. Puddles in the road ain't floods folks, a flood is when the roof of your home is the only thing above water! Worse even is that the annoying little alert icon remains on any weather widget or cable weather channel saying 'River flood warning seek shelter or high ground DO NOT TRAVEL' when there's nothing but puddles!
I've also been woken up by Amber alerts and they are less common but often not even in my own state. The last time it was warning me of a child abduction in TEXAS. I live in Kentucky! What am I gonna do? Also, what are the proper responses to an amber alert if you spot the vehicle (and not just one of the same color or model, which happens--ever had to explain to a cop who mistook your car for the suspects because it's the same make/model/color? yeah not fun) I mean what is the response? vigilante justice or people pretending to be cops? How does this not endanger the child more? You got a possible armed kidnapper with an itchy trigger finger wanting a ransom and there's two folks in Saturns and perhaps a Buick yelling at the man to give the child back? I mean what was wrong with pictures on milk cartons? (yeah I'm old).
If it's gonna make the tornado warning sound, let it be an actual weather disaster incoming please, not a flood warning in a non-flood-prone area or a kidnapping on the other side of the country!
Thank goodness the HTC Thunderbolt I'm using doesn't even support these crazy alerts. I never thought AirPods Pros would make the sound, but am glad I 'downgraded' before finding out the hard way--it's been raining a lot lately so I'm glad to have avoided one of those blasted things warning me about a 'river flood' again that amounts to nothing.
Not necessarily, since Ludwig Von Beethoven was deaf.
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Late in life, he was already a professional musician at that point.
Also Beethoven wasn't an audiophile
He also wasn't deaf in the sense that people often seem to think – he used bone condition to transfer sound to his inner ear as his problems with hearing seems to have originated elsewhere in the ear.Late in life, he was already a professional musician at that point.
Also Beethoven wasn't an audiophile
How a deaf Beethoven discovered bone conduction by attaching a rod to his piano and clenching it in his teeth
Beethoven wrote dozens of symphonies and songs while deaf. But he had some help from a nifty trick.
www.zmescience.com
Having intrusive tinnitus and even mild to moderate hearing-loss affects the musical experience. The nuances for me in the higher frequencies isn't as good as anymore. Less detail and ”crispness” in high-hats and cymbals. They ”die out” (less timbre) more quickly than I remember when my hearing was better. It's really sad for someone who I guess would classify as an audiophile.
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