The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco affirmed a 2008 district court ruling that the plaintiffs failed to show that use of the iPod poses an unreasonable risk of noise-induced hearing loss. It also found that the plaintiffs lacked standing to allege a violation of California's unfair competition law.

"The plaintiffs do not allege the iPods failed to do anything they were designed to do nor do they allege that they, or any others, have suffered or are substantially certain to suffer inevitable hearing loss or other injury from iPod use," Senior Judge David Thompson wrote. "At most, the plaintiffs plead a potential risk of hearing loss not to themselves, but to other unidentified iPod users," he wrote.

Reuters notes that the plaintiffs had sought money damages. They also wanted to force Apple to improve safety and disclosures, provide better headphones, and test iPod users for hearing loss, the article adds.