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Suit Charges iPods Can Damage Hearing

February 3, 2006

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A Louisiana man has filed a lawsuit against Apple Computer, claiming its iPods are too loud and could damage his hearing. The suit seeks class action status but does not seek specific damages.

Lawyers for John Kiel Patterson charge the mp3 players are "inherently defective" in design and do not provide sufficient warning to consumers that the volume could result in hearing loss. The suit says the iPod can produce sounds at more than 115 decibels, which it says can damage hearing if exposed to as little as a half minute per day.

Patterson's suit says he bought an iPod in 2005 but does not make a claim that his hearing has been damaged. His lawyers argue the point of the suit is to dramatize the potential of the iPod to cause permanent damage to millions of consumers who have and who will purchase the product.

Currently the iPod comes with a warning that says "permanent hearing loss may occur if earphones or headphones are used at high volume." But the suit says the headphones that come with the iPod actually contribute to hearing loss because they do not dilute the sound entering the ear and are closer to the ear canal than other sound sources.

Apple has sold more than 42 million iPods since they went on sale in 2001. The company declined to comment on the suit.

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