Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple Facing Lawsuit After AirPods Allegedly Ruptured Child's Eardrums With Amber Alert
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I’m not convinced that a single alert could produce all the hearing problems, but the failure on the part of Apple to equalise sound output through any type of head phones is really annoying and needs to be fixed. It is sad if it takes a lawsuit to force Apple to make this work the way it should have from day one.
No child taken by a stranger has ever been rescued by an amber alert. I turn them off.
However this is a clear bug. But…the described symptoms sound actually ridiculous for a large volume which likely is not as loud as things normally experienced in the environment. But it’s a big bug to have the alert have a different volume than settings and apple is going to pay a few million for it.
However this is a clear bug. But…the described symptoms sound actually ridiculous for a large volume which likely is not as loud as things normally experienced in the environment. But it’s a big bug to have the alert have a different volume than settings and apple is going to pay a few million for it.
Last edited:
Yea this alert system was also abused during the first year of the pandemic where I live. It's not for amber/silver alerts only, it's for emergency alerts as well and the government used it to warn people to stay in during lockdowns. Even though I'm very responsible when it comes to Covid I ended up hating this alert so much.
They should give users the option to just enable amber alerts to play though internal iPhone speaker or accessory of choice. I shouldn’t have to disable amber alerts because I’m worried my product is defective or the software is buggy.
This is actually a critical bug no matter if it’s rare because of the potential harm it brings to any potential user.
All these comments that “I don’t believe it” and “the kid is just lying”
Like…you know they’ll have to produce medical records and medical evaluations to support their claim, right?
I highly doubt they are filing this suit with none of that information to support their claim but hey, if so, this will be a quick case.
Like…you know they’ll have to produce medical records and medical evaluations to support their claim, right?
I highly doubt they are filing this suit with none of that information to support their claim but hey, if so, this will be a quick case.
I had the alert blare at full volume via my car stereo when connected via bluetooth. It was infuriating.
And yes, here in Canada we cannot disable the alerts.
AirPods Pros can do about 110 to 115 db SPL max which is about the same as standing 6 ft from a shotgun blast (155 db)
Jets flying over head are far from you. This on the other hand is right in your ear. Apparently acoustic energy drops of by the inverse square law of the radius and that makes the distance to the source the predominant parameter. It shouldn’t be difficult to determine whether the noise produced by the alert was sufficient to do nerve damage because those safe decibel levels are already well defined and it is easy to show if the earpiece can generate that value or not.
Amber alerts should be turned off by default
TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️
Suspended
It involve kids. Can't even imagine how massive this lawsuit is going to be.
If I turn off Amber alerts, how am I going to know what is going on in Chevy Chase canyon?
I've turned off all alerts. Everhing. Getting one about poor air quality, that almost made me poop myself while high speed driving, was the last straw. They're dangerous.
I doubt an open style ear bud created enough force to rupture the eardrum. Any force would simply blow out the opening as these are not sealed. I am sure Apple's lawyers will destroy their claim in short order.
Agreed. Funny how people don't like the simple fact you quoted a scientific/medical fact. It isn't even your personal claim or opinion. Maybe they're disliking the fact, not your post. Yeah ... that's it.
It's a scientific "fact" that doesn't take into consideration children have smaller ear canals, which increases sound pressure.
The only people agreeing with it are non-science people who can't think outside a textbook.
to everyone saying that the airpods max dB shouldn't cause issues like others mentioned keep in mind it is a child that the incident happened to. Now of course it will be hard (I think) to prove that the child was already listening to the movie/show at an "appropriate" level, but a quick search lead me to this https://www.chla.org/blog/rehab-therapies-and-audiology/how-loud-too-loud.
Specifically "According to the World Health Organization (WHO), adults should not be exposed to sounds with a peak sound pressure level above 140 dB. For children, the level is reduced to 120 dB."
Not to mention like others have posted, everyone is different in regards to ear shape, ear canal, tolerances, there are a lot of variables, but I just wanted to bring the attention that "safe" for an adult and child are certainly different
Specifically "According to the World Health Organization (WHO), adults should not be exposed to sounds with a peak sound pressure level above 140 dB. For children, the level is reduced to 120 dB."
Not to mention like others have posted, everyone is different in regards to ear shape, ear canal, tolerances, there are a lot of variables, but I just wanted to bring the attention that "safe" for an adult and child are certainly different
Those alerts are so dangerous. When they first appeared in iOS they were on by default. I didn't even know they were there until the first time it sounded. It was so loud and confusing. I found out about them and toggled them off immediately. They should definitely be opt in (instead of opt out) and allow user to choose sound and banner settings like the rest of the notifications.
I mean would they rather have many people turn off the sound only or have many turn them off entirely? If it takes me some minutes longer before I notice an Amber alert, I will still see it. But if you make the alerts so disruptive and dangerous that I have to turn them off entirely, then I won't see the Amber alert at all. I suspect many people are in my position, and therefore many people end up not getting the Amber alerts to be on the look out than otherwise. Same goes with the "emergency alerts" and "public safety alerts".
I mean would they rather have many people turn off the sound only or have many turn them off entirely? If it takes me some minutes longer before I notice an Amber alert, I will still see it. But if you make the alerts so disruptive and dangerous that I have to turn them off entirely, then I won't see the Amber alert at all. I suspect many people are in my position, and therefore many people end up not getting the Amber alerts to be on the look out than otherwise. Same goes with the "emergency alerts" and "public safety alerts".
Last edited:
This so much! It's the first thing I do when I get a new phone. The alerts don't respect the volume settings or if you have it on vibrate.
I can't speak for other areas but the ones I get are for stuff hundreds of miles away...
In short, the guys quoting 165dB are simpletons who think there is only one number.
If you told them it takes 4,000N to break a bone, they would buy that number and apply to it a newborn, child, or grandmother.
"How could the baby be hurt by a drop? It takes 4,000N to break bones!"
That news link includes the firm whose suing Apple and case/parties specifics that wasn't mentioned on OP.
Did she predict the moment the Amber alert would sound on the iPhone as well?😮💨
What I don't get is why play the alert sound through the headphones in the first place? Have that SOB wail through the built in speakers only.