Music fans who damage their hearing by cranking up the volume on their iPods cannot blame Apple after a US appeals court ruled that users are responsible for listening to music too loudly.
The judgment is yet more good news for Apple, whose shares hit a record high ahead of the rumoured launch of its “tablet” computer this month with more details leaking out.
Judge David Thompson upheld a 2008 ruling that the iPod was not directly responsible for hearing loss despite users being able to listen to music at a potentially dangerous 115 decibels. He said that the two claimants did not prove that hearing loss was “actual or imminent” when using an iPod.
The complaint was initially filed by Joseph Birdsong in Louisiana before another complainant, Bruce Waggoner, joined the suit. They had argued that the iPod’s earphones were designed to be placed in the ear canal rather than over the ears, increasing the prospect of hearing loss, and that the device lacked any noise-isolating or cancelling properties.
Apple has sold 220 million iPods since 2001.
See more at the Times Online.
