Apple is facing a lawsuit where a child’s eardrums were ruptured when it played an Amber Alert.
The California filing identified the child as B.G. and recounted the events that happened leading to the ruptured eardrum. B.G. was watching a movie on his iPhone with the AirPods Pro connected. The content disclosed the volume was set at low, but then without warning an Amber Alert came up and damaged the child’s eardrums.
The 12-year old and his parents filed the lawsuit in 2020, claiming that the notification caused hearing injuries and damaged the boy’s cochlea. In addition, it claimed that B.G. has sustained a permanent hearing loss and is suffering from tinnitus, vertigo, nausea and dizziness. He also started to wear a hearing aid in his right ear after the incident.
Amber Alerts are designed to catch the attention of smartphone users with a vibration and loud sound while a message is displayed.