Apple Inc. appeared before a California federal judge on Thursday to request the dismissal of a lawsuit alleging that an Amber Alert broadcast through AirPods Pro caused permanent hearing damage to a 12-year-old boy. The tech company firmly denied the claim, stating there is no scientific basis connecting the alert to the boy’s injury and emphasized that the AirPods are not defective.
Apple’s legal team argued for summary judgment, maintaining that the boy’s alleged hearing loss was not caused by the Amber Alert but could be attributed to other potential factors, including viral infection. “The science is clear — the sound levels produced by AirPods, even during an Amber Alert, are not sufficient to cause hearing damage,” said Apple attorney Stephen Copenhaver of ArentFox Schiff LLP.
During the hearing, U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley acknowledged that viruses are the leading cause of sudden hearing loss in adolescents and questioned the reliability of the family’s medical expert, who failed to eliminate other medical causes, such as asymptomatic COVID-19.
The family of the child, referred to as B.G., claims that in May 2020, while using AirPods at a low volume to watch Netflix, an Amber Alert unexpectedly blared through the earbuds, resulting in tinnitus, nausea, and permanent hearing loss in his right ear. Their legal team argues that Apple failed to implement safeguards to limit the volume of such emergency alerts and described the AirPods Pro as defective due to the lack of automatic volume reduction.
Despite acknowledging the child experienced hearing issues shortly after the alert, Apple maintains there is no evidence that the AirPods Pro can reach decibel levels capable of causing acute hearing damage. According to their legal filings, industry research indicates that exposure to sound must reach at least 140 decibels to cause such injuries — a level far beyond the capabilities of AirPods.
The family’s attorneys countered that Apple never properly tested the sound pressure levels associated with Amber Alerts when played through AirPods and could have addressed the risk by including an output limiter. They further stated that material disputes exist between experts that should be decided by a jury, not dismissed outright.
Judge Corley has not yet issued a ruling and has taken the matter under submission.
The lawsuit, originally filed in May 2022, was amended in March 2024 following the death of co-plaintiff Carlos Gordoa. Ariani Reyes, now the sole plaintiff and executrix of Gordoa’s estate, continues to pursue the case on behalf of their son.
The case is Gordoa et al. v. Apple Inc. et al., case number 3:22-cv-02900, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
