Apple's AirPods Pro have allegedly ruptured a boy's eardrum

Wireless Bluetooth headphones and especially true-wireless earbuds such as the popular AirPods have become indispensable everyday gadgets for many smartphone users. While these noise-cancelling headphones allow people to enjoy their music in noisy environments, a twelve-year-old boy in the United States has had a particularly bad experience with his Apple AirPods Pro.

According to a report by MacRumors, a lawsuit that has now been filed against Apple in California claims that the boy was caught off guard by an extremely loud warning notification while watching a movie on Netflix, which apparently even ruptured one of his eardrums. The notification was a so-called amber alert, which is automatically forwarded to smartphones in the US and is intended to draw attention to an ongoing child abduction. This high-pitched warning tone was allegedly played at the highest volume, even though the boy was enjoying his Netflix movie at a lower volume while wearing his AirPods Pro.

The incident allegedly resulted in permanent hearing loss on the right ear, which is why the boy had to start wearing a hearing aid. The parents therefore accuse Apple of selling a defective pair of headphones in the AirPods Pro, which do not automatically lower the volume of such warning notifications. The lawsuit also claims that Apple is aware of this issue, but that the Cupertino-based company has not warned its customers about this potential hazard. The lawsuit apparently does not demand a fixed amount of damages. Meanwhile, reports from other Apple AirPods Pro users on Reddit seem to confirm that warning messages like amber alerts are indeed played at an uncomfortably high volume.

Buy the Apple AirPods Pro for US$197 on Amazon