Everyone remembers that story about how a bunch of people were suing Apple for potential iPod-induced hearing loss, even though they hadn't lost any hearing. It got shot down last year, appealed, and today, killed for good. CRANK IT.

The case was a bit odd from the start, in that it hinged on the potential for hearing loss, rather than actual, inflicted hearing loss. It was also odd beacuse iPods, which are evidently capable of pumping out about 125dB of sound through a pair of those crappy white earbuds, already have a volume-limiting function. This is in addition to normal volume controls, which apparently don't provide enough guidance to users to prevent them from techno-blasting their eardrums into mucousy, deaf meat-nuggets. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court's decision from last year that iPod could be, and generally are, used safely, and dismissed the lawsuit.

But as my grandfather always used to say, at the center of every frivolous class action technology lawsuit, there lies a grain of truth: iPods and iPhones, if you turn them up too loud, can damage your hearing. So don't, k? [Ars Technica]