In 2022, a Texas family filed a lawsuit against Apple for damaging their son’s hearing after an Amber Alert went off while he was wearing Airpods. According to Google, the maximum volume of phone headphones is around 105 decibels. The family are claiming that the son now requires hearing aids after his eardrum ruptured.
Is this plausible?
Not typically. Instantaneous noise levels of Lp 115 dBA have a significant risk of permanent injury, and long term exposure above Lp,den 50 dBA (especially at night) will shorten your life.
But hearing damage is cumulative, if you go about shooting guns without protection or other noise pollution, you might get injured at lower levels.