If your iPod damages your hearing, it's your own stupid fault

David Heath
Thursday, 31 December 2009 06:13

Your IT - Home IT

An overnight US court ruling has confirmed that just because an iPod can be played loud, it doesn't mean it has to be.  If you damage your hearing, tough!

According to court documents, "Plaintiffs-appellants Joseph Birdsong and Bruce Waggoner (collectively, the "plaintiffs") filed a class action complaint claiming that defendant-appellee Apple, Inc.'s ("Apple") iPod is defective because it poses an unreasonable risk of noise induced hearing loss to its users. The plaintiffs appeal the district court's dismissal of their third amended complaint. The district court determined that the plaintiffs failed to state claims for breach of the implied warranty of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose, and that they lacked standing to assert a claim under California's Unfair Competition Law ("UCL")."

Judge David R. Thompson, in writing the Opinion, "We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and we affirm."

The ruling noted that there was adequate warning of potential hearing damage included in every iPod package and also that there was further information available on its website.

Birdsong and Waggoner argued that the iPod (1) comes with "stock ear buds . . . designed to be placed deep into the ear canal rather than over the ears, which increases the danger of hearing damage," (2) lacks "noise isolating or cancelling properties," and (3) lacks any volume meter that will inform users they are listening at dangerous levels.

Judge Thompson responds, "The district court did not err. The plaintiffs admit that the iPod has an 'ordinary purpose of listening to music,' and nothing they allege suggests iPods are unsafe for that use or defective. The plaintiffs recognize that iPods play music, have an adjustable volume, and transmit sound through ear buds.  The third amended complaint includes statements that (1) the iPod is capable of playing 115 decibels of sound; (2) consumers may listen at unsafe levels; and (3) iPod batteries can last 12 to 14 hours and are rechargeable, giving users the opportunity to listen for long periods of time. Taken as true, such statements suggest only that users have the option of using an iPod in a risky manner, not that the product lacks any minimum level of quality." (Italics provided by the judge)

The ruling also notes that the plaintiffs made no claim of their own or any one else's hearing loss, meaning that they were simply making conjecture that such damage may occur at some point.  Their argument in this area was to the effect that such "inherent risk of hearing loss has reduced the value of their iPods and deprived them of the full benefit of their bargain because they cannot 'safely' listen to music."

So, common sense prevails.  If the iPod makes it possible to be an idiot, it doesn't follow that it is Apple's fault if you decide to follow that path. 

Caveat Stupido.