Lawsuit claims iPod can cause hearing loss

San Jose (CA) - Playing music at an increased volume can cause damage to your ears. Common sense to most, but the topic recently surfaced more prominently in the light of experts warning about potential hearing loss and the involvement of the iPod. In a case of "You probably saw this coming," a suit seeks damages for hearing loss and upgrades to future players to prevent them from damaging hearing.

The suit was filed by iPod owner John Kiel Patterson, who says that the iPod causes hearing loss in those who use it. "[The players are] inherently defective in design and are not sufficiently adorned with adequate warnings regarding the likelihood of hearing loss" says the complaint.

In what some might term a litigious society the cynics in the audience might point out that blasting loud noise into your eardrums is not a good idea according to the laws of common sense. But this has been a problem which experts have been warning us about for some time now, saying that people are still blaring their music at excessively high levels despite the warnings.

This suit may have some merit however, as the complaint points out phrases such as "crank up the tunes" in iPod literature ; and there is certainly scientific evidence to support the theory that high volume, especially that sent unfiltered through the ear buds which typically come with digital music players, can cause hearing damage.

Whether or not Apple is responsible for any possible damage is another matter for the courts to decide, but this case may well open the floodgates upon them and the other notable manufacturers of such products such as Creative.