Naked Science Forum
General Discussion & Feedback => Just Chat! => Topic started by: SkepticalDebunker on 06/05/2024 14:14:40
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https://globalnews.ca/news/8851556/apple-lawsuit-amber-alert-hearing-damage/
https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/44560022/Gordoa_et_al_v_Apple,_Inc_et_al
I did some Googling, and the maximum output physically possible for Airpods is 100-105 decibels when in the ear. So if they're playing a sound at maximum volume, the maximum decibels their eardrums could be exposed to is 100-105 decibels. Apparently, the family waited two years before filing the lawsuit, but I can't find a source for this as of now, it was a comment made on Reddit.
Is 100-105 decibels enough to instantly rupture a person's eardrum and immediately cause permanent hearing damage as the family claims?
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No.
Statutory occupational peak limit is 135 dB.
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Would the suddenness of the sound make it more damaging?
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No. The peak pressure is the only criterion of concern. I don't see any small audio device having anything near the peak pressure needed to actually rupture a human eardrum.
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According to this, 150 decibels can cause eardrum rupture:
https://www.chem.purdue.edu/chemsafety/Training/PPETrain/dblevels.htm
Also found another article on the lawsuit which provides photos and a video:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10830803/Boy-suffered-ruptured-ear-drum-hearing-loss-Apple-AirPods-blared-Amber-Alert.html
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Asked my friend, who is an audiologist, what she thinks of this case. She messaged me back with this
"This is nonsense and reeks of a hoax. The SPL required to shatter an eardrum is around 160 dB, which is equivalent to the SPL of a gunshot fired close to you. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/when-using-headphones-to-listen-to-music-how-loud-it-too-loud-for-kids/ mentions that the top volume level on Apple music players is 102 dB. The volume required to cause rupture of an eardrum is almost 10,000,000,000 times louder. The photos could be of somebody else's child, or a routine hearing test. There's not a single case in the literature of eardrum ruptures happening at only 102 dB. There's no reason that Amber Alerts would be any more damaging than any other similarly loud noise. This is like claiming that a bb gun pellet tore your arm off."
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Hearing loss, perhaps, probably due to chronic use of earbuds. Rupture? I think not.
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Okay, so most sources say that the sound required to cause eardrum rupture is around 160 decibels.
Are the Airpods capable of producing 160 dB?
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No.