Suing Apple For Hearing Loss

Fellow Channels Editor, Mae Kowalke sent me an interesting AP feature regarding the iPod headphones...

According to the story, a Louisiana man is suing Apple, claiming that the player can cause hearing loss.

A few things sort of made me chuckle when I read this interesting piece. First of all, John Kiel Patterson (the one who is suing Apple) "does not know if the device has damaged his hearing, said his attorney, Steve W. Berman, of Seattle. But that's beside the point of the lawsuit, which takes issue with the potential the iPod has to cause irreparable hearing loss, Berman said."

So he doesn't know if the iPod has, in fact, caused said hearing loss? Need I say any more here?

Secondly, I doubt there are many people in this free world who don't understand the possible side-effects of using headphones/headsets/ear buds, etc....

Haven't our mothers yelled at us enough to turn down the volume of our Walkmans because we might go deaf? Haven't there been enough warnings since the advent of headphones that have told us listening to devices at high decibles would serve as a detriment to our pretty little ears?

Please.

Mae also mentioned that she had read a report that warning lables have lost their efficacy because there are too many out there. As consumers, we're so overwhelmed with warnings that we tend to ignore the overabundance of them.

If Apple smacks a warning lable on their iPods, will you pay attention?

Maybe this should just serve as a reminder from the good ol' advice from Mom. Turn down the volume and you wont' hurt your ears.

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