Appeals court sides with Apple in iPod hearing loss dispute
By Donald Melanson 
posted December 31st 2009 12:58PM
posted December 31st 2009 12:58PM
Well, it looks like that iPod hearing loss lawsuit that's been nagging Apple for the past couple of years may finally be going away (in its current form, at least), as the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco has now affirmed a 2008 district court ruling and rejected a class-action lawsuit that sought to hold Apple responsible for hearing loss allegedly caused by iPods. While that may be a possibility, the court said that the "plaintiffs do not allege the iPods failed to do anything they were designed to do nor do they allege that they, or any others, have suffered or are substantially certain to suffer inevitable hearing loss or other injury from iPod use" -- further adding that, "at most, the plaintiffs plead a potential risk of hearing loss not to themselves, but to other unidentified iPod users," which doesn't quite make the grade for a class-action suit. Not surprisingly, neither Apple nor the plaintiffs are making any comments on the verdict, and we're pretty sure that Apple would like to keep it that way.
Good. If you play your music really loudly you're going to have hearing loss. Just like if you go to McDonalds every day you're going to get fat.
@Konrad pardon?
you get fat from eating McDonalds everyday! I smell a lawsuit...or maybe thats just my big mac
@noodles2k Look, I bet 90% of the mp3 player ears people use cause hearing loss(since most people put their music way too loud), of course, high trees catch a lot of wind and that's the case with this. If, say there were more Zunes than iPods, someone would probably fire a lawsuit at MS
I first read the title as :
"Apple court sides with Apple in iPod hearing loss dispute". lol.
@Konrad I would like to sue Budweiser for making me do things with fat girls!
@wosully laughed SO hard!!!
remember this?
http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2003/5/28/
I still don't get why this lawsuit even got this far. It's your own damn fault for putting the volume up so loud, but no one wants to own up to their actions. I could go get a gun and murder someone with it, does that give the right to sue the gun manufacturer? After all, there was no limiter for my stupidity!
@Dafrety Not to disagree that this is a silly lawsuit, but the hardware/software can be responsible for volume issues. Sometimes when a song starts on my iPod, the first second is painfully loud, then the level balancing software kicks in. That's not enough to cause long-term hearing loss, but it sucks a lot, and it's entirely the fault of the software and hardware not balancing the volume before starting the song.
@Dafrety
AMEN, when are the people in this world going to admit their mistakes. Its like people trying to sue the fire arms industry for someone killing someone people just need to learn to take the punishment for their actions.
@schmidt1985
I remember south park for this one, "why would you eat something that makes your a@@hole bleed?" LOL
@CtrlBurn
I don't actually remember having that happen when I had iPods. The most I've ever had was accidentally maxing the volume out (or at the very least making it really loud) when taking it out of my pocket. Both of these issues could be fixed by enabling the volume limiter that all modern MP3 players have.
@Dafrety
Well... "fault" in the legal sense is very iffy. Manufacturers are required to give adequate warning. Even if something may seem like common sense to most, especially the people here, it doesn't matter. They also have to take into account a large part of the population is illiterate. Liability laws are a bitch!
@(Unverified) Well, then those warnings would be fruitless, illiterates cannot read.
Thank God, some sense from the courts.
"Hmm, my ears are ringing from listening to everything with the volume full blast, Apple! I can't believe you didn't set a limit on volume to save me from myself! SUE SUE SUE SUE SUE"
@Valicore
A volume limit is already included on every modern Ipod, you just have to go to settings and set it.
Personal responsibility folks!
@Valicore
The plaintiffs should be locked up for three months for wasting court time. Give them an IPod fixed at the highest volume level to listen to in their cell.
Good. It was like blaming the alcohol for your alcoholism.
i think the dude in the photo should sue his barber.
@lebowski
That wouldn't be a nice thing to do to his own mother. :(
@lebowski We shall pass on your remarks to Thomas Ricker.
From reading the post, it appears that this lawsuit was pretty janky from the start. The plaintiffs didn't even name themselves as possible victims? Are you serious? I hope they get a refund from their crappy lawyer.
ahahah more moochers shot down by the court, like Psystar.
Nokia is next.
@HighestRanked
What did Nokia do to offend your poor iFanboy soul?
@Dafrety remember how just recently Nokia all of a sudden simply decided to sue Apple for "patent violations" on the original iPhone? I'm hoping Apple wins that battle too.
@HighestRanked
It's not "all of the sudden," it takes time to get all your stuff in order when filing for a lawsuit. Even if you have a whole team of LOLyers.
@Dafrety I'm no legal expert, but almost 3 years to prepare a lawsuit sounds like an awful long time to me.
Would be nice if a decibel value was viewable when adjusting the volume, as I'd like to know if I am over or under the recommended decibel count, even if it's just by a small amount.
@iStepOnU
That would be cool but with how the volume changes every second in a song this would have to be something that automatically adjusts when set to a curtain setting.
@schmidt1985
Yes the volume changes depending on what's happening in the song, but it's still below a certain amount regardless.
One might say their complaint fell on deaf ears
@derwin What?
@cayton
WHAT!?
I dropped an ipod in some mcdonalds coffee and the cup broke causing hearing loss to my offspring after the coffee landed on my lap.
Is there a lawyer in the house?
Someone had to link it, it may be me as well:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09I4Mi5IUl4
(Attention, if you're going to listen to this at high volume it MAY damage your hearing. Please, do not sue YT, Engadget or me)
This is like like Rosie O'Donnell blaming her fork because she's fat.
@surgex it's not funny to call women fat...
oh wait you said Rosie O'Donnel
@Rinum009 I'm sure at least one of her personalities would be offended
as much as I hate apple this is one of the stupider lawsuits I've ever heard of.
This might even be stupider than suing McDonald's for making you fat.
@avinationcom why the Apple hate?
if you jump from a building, you will get injured or die.
it is unbelievable, anything could happen in San Francisco
It amazes me what suits people bring... At least from the details suggested in this article, it seems like there is no cause in fact... Is that what the court said?
Now when is someone gonna sue Bose for making headphones that can emit sounds that can damage your ear.