Christina Spicer  |  August 20, 2021

Category: Electronics

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Samsung Galaxy earbuds
(Photo Credit:JPstock/Shutterstock)

Samsung Galaxy Earbuds Class Action Lawsuit Overview:  

  • Who: A New Jersey consumer lodged a class action lawsuit against Samsung Electronics America, Inc.
  • Why: The plaintiff claims that a defect in Samsung Galaxy earbuds can cause irritation and even an allergic reaction in users.  
  • Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in New Jersey federal court.  

Samsung Galaxy earbuds are made of a material that can cause users to experience “itching, burning, redness, blistering, flaking, scabbing and/or fluid leaking” from their ears, according to a class action lawsuit filed in New Jersey federal court Thursday.  

Lead plaintiff, Cheryl Westerkamp, wants to represent consumers nationwide who purchased Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro headphones. She claims that Samsung knew of the problem, but continued to sell the earbuds anyway.  

Westerkamp, a New Jersey resident, says she spent more than $200 on a pair of Samsung Galaxy earbuds in April. She claims that shortly after using the pricey headphones, she began to experience soreness in her ears.  

The plaintiff says that, initially, she could not figure out the problem, and she continued using the Samsung Galaxy earbuds, but her ears began “scabbing, flaking, oozing.” 

Westerkamp says she stopped using the product in July and contacted the company. She claims she was instructed to spend another $22 on aftermarket foam tips to use with her Samsung Galaxy earbuds; however, the plaintiff claims the tips did not help and she is now left with Samsung Galaxy earbuds and foam tips she cannot use.  

Complaints About Allergic Reactions to Samsung Galaxy Earbuds 

Samsung Galaxy earbuds have been on the market for months and, prior to their release, the company sold many other in-ear headphones, points out the class action lawsuit.  

“Based on the numerous reports in the public domain of the Defect manifesting within days or weeks of regular use, on information and belief, Samsung received calls, communications, correspondence, or warranty claims from consumers regarding the Defect with the Earbuds as early as January 2021,” states the complaint.  

Indeed, despite the complaints, Westerkamp says she and other consumers were still able to purchase allegedly defective Samsung Galaxy earbuds months later — paying hundreds of dollars for a product they expected to last many years.  

Further, Westerkamp says that she and other Class Members are forced to pay out-of-pocket for any medical treatment they require for allergic reactions to Samsung Galaxy earbuds.  

The plaintiff accuses Samsung of fraud and unjust enrichment. She wants the company to reimburse a nationwide Class of consumers, along with a New Jersey subclass, for the purchase of their Samsung Galaxy earbuds. Westercamp also wants Samsung to pay for any out-of-pocket medical costs and the purchase of aftermarket products used in an attempt to alleviate the problems caused by the product.  

This is far from the first consumer to complain about Samsung products. The company has faced class action lawsuits for Samsung Galaxy Note 4 defects, 3D Smart TV Capacitors, shattering Galaxy cameras, and leaky remote control batteries.  

Have you had any issues with Samsung Galaxy earbuds? Tell us about your experience in the comment section below! 

The plaintiff is represented by Matthew R. Mendelsohn of Mazie Slater Katz & Freeman, LLC.  

The Samsung Galaxy Earbuds Class Action Lawsuit is Westerkamp v. Samsung Electronics America, Inc., Case No. 2:21-cv-15639 in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.  


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401 thoughts onSamsung Galaxy Earbuds Cause Allergic, Inflammatory Reaction, Claims Class Action

  1. Stu says:

    I can’t believe they haven’t sorted this yet. I’ve had ear problems since the end of November, coincidence that I bought galaxy buds pro2 then. Never had the issues when I had galaxy buds live but something with these ones they’ve changed. Now Samsung have a my buds to look at but because they cant find any problems with them and “working as normal” they have sent them back to me and say to go to my doctor’s, with no offer of a refund of any kind even though they’re a couple months old! The retailer is also not interested as they’ve been opened.
    I am very surprised this has not become a bigger story and am very disappointed on Samsung after backing them for so many years. Disgusting customer service.

  2. Jennifer says:

    I have experienced the same issue of irritated, inflamed, oozing, itchy and flaky ears on both sides several times. Each episode would take weeks to heal. After the third time I thought it had to be related to the use of ear buds and after a quick research, I found many others have reported similar cases. This is when I called Samsung (Dec 2023) and was passed to the Specialty Claims department who opened up the claim. The agent told me the device has to be sent back for inspection even though the issue is bodily harm to my ears by wearing the device. They asked me for the photos of the damage to the ears and to send back the device. A few weeks later, they denied my claim, this time because a medical documentation was not submitted. This is unacceptable because they are denying the claim based on a document they did not ask for.
    Furious, when I called the customer service back to clarify this, I got stuck between different departments and they made me wait a really long time to speak to a manager who handles escalations and they suddenly hung up on me. Never called me back. In conclusion, by wearing the ear buds, I suffered from bodily harm, they opened up a claim without disclosing all they require to process the claim, and then deny the claim based on the lack of document that was not requested for in the first place, and they will dodge calls to speak to a human agent by making you wait for indeterminant amount of time, and finally hanging up on you. You have to be at their mercy of calling you back to even talk about this issue, let alone any resolution.

  3. Jeramey Hall says:

    I’ve bought 2 pair of Galaxy earbuds in the past and I’ve reached out to you guys and let you know that I had tendinitis loss of hearing in the left ear. Flaky red bleeding ears the whole irritation. And I’ve just been waiting for you guys to get back in contact with me. I have 2 receipts to show the dates of when I purchase both sets of Galaxy earbuds. And since I’ve stopped using them. I haven’t had any problem except the irritating denies it tendenitis has not. Cleared up and I still have constant ringing in the left ear and somewhat of a hearing lost in the left ear

  4. SH says:

    STOPPP CALLING!!! DO NOT WANT TO PARTICIPATE!!!

  5. Josh Brandon says:

    I purchased the Samsung Earbuds in March of 2021 for $196.64 for use with my home studio as well as personal use. I am a voice actor and entertainer, so monitoring my audio is vital to my career. Unfortunately, the ability to monitor audio has been significantly hindered since the purchase of this product. Almost immediately after initial use, I began getting ear infections (the prescription ear drops required to treat, not cure, the issue cost nearly $200 and weren’t covered under insurance). Those ear infections left me with tinnitus and other internal ear symptoms while causing my ear canals to be constantly crusty, flakey, irritated, and swollen, which affects, if not hinders my hearing ability at times. The symptoms are so consistently painful and discomforting, as well as embarrassing with what amounts to ear dandruff, that my daily life is impacted by this product’s faulty design. To this day, two and a half years after the initial purchase, my ears haven’t gotten any better. The daily irritation is still present, as is the flakey crust.
    After some trial and error, I determined that the Samsung Ear Buds were the culprit. It didn’t occur to me immediately because of the premium cost, name brand, and design. When my ears began breaking out, I wasn’t able to use anything like an ear bud for some time. The issue never really healed, only slightly improved if that, so it didn’t immediately register flaming back up after trying to use them again, because the issue simply flared in waves thereafter initial use.
    Finally, I contacted Samsung and asked if there were any issues with the ear buds and was told there were no known issues. I proceeded to continue trying to use the buds, only to have my ears break out even worse. Finally, having determined that there was no other outcome but the earbuds as the cause of the ear issue, I contacted them again and was told to send the earbuds back to them for inspection and assessment of the issue.
    Weeks went by with no contact, refund, or update. My earbuds were gone, my ears were infected and wrecked, and my refund wasn’t processed.  In October of 2021, after emailing and calling to get an answer on my issue, I was greeted with this email message:

    “This Is a follow up email regarding pending claim.
    Please be able to also attach a photo of your ear (even if it has already healed) for claim documentation purposes.
    As for earbuds, we were unable to determine what could have caused the discomfort but we are able to provide refund as courtesy.
    Please attach receipt and photo to this email thread.
    Thank you,
    Juanita”

    I did not want a refund. I wanted the product I purchased not to ruin my ears.

    At this time, I called Samsung again and told them I was having an issue, what the issue was, and asked if I could have some sort of replacement. I was told they would just refund me. I asked what my alternative options to refunding were, since these were the best earbuds, I’d ever owned and was told they were aware of an issue and there wasn’t an immediate resolution, so they offered me a full refund. At that time, I expressed the cost of the treatment of my ears but was more or less brushed off.
    Within an hour of that email, I sent pictures of my ear canals, which I have documented through Gmail. However, the receipt was an issue, as I had issues logging into my Samsung account, where I purchased the unit. I got the run around for several days before, on Nov 11 2021, Samsung reached back out via email and asked if I was still interested in the refund. At this time, I was in denial that the buds were a lost cause and I began searching the internet for any similar cases. I responded to that email reiterating that I had to visit an ENT and seek medical treatment for my ears while informing them that I had purchased the item through them, so they should have that documented, as I was having issues getting into that account. I got no response. On December 10, 2021, I contacted them again, expressing that I had yet to receive a refund and simply wanted the product sent back to me if I couldn’t get my money back. January 18th, 2022, I sent another email stating I still hadn’t heard back or received a resolution and demanded immediate response. With NO contact by Samsung, on March 21, 2022, after having been back and forth with Samsung on getting back into my account and finding the purchase receipt, I screenshotted that and sent to Samsung Care. On March 28, 2022, my refund for 196.64 was processed and released to me. I never heard back regarding my medical costs.

    In July 2022, I purchased Beats earbuds from Amazon. These are good products, but due to the swelling, continued inflammation, and flaking, I cannot wear wireless earbuds comfortably, nor will they will stay in my ears. The continued, never-healing, irritation is aggravated every use, even though the Beats buds aren’t causing a reaction, they’re enflaming the previous issue from 2021.

  6. Ousley Early says:

    This is what Samsung sent me after my complaint:

    Hello Ousley Early,

    Hope all is well on your end. Thank you for sending in your device for evaluation. Samsung Lab received your device and concluded our analysis. They confirmed the earbuds worked as designed and have no physical damages. The issue you reported is skin irritation related which differs from person to person. Unfortunately due to lab results we are not able to refund since the earbuds work fine. We will have to deny your claim and return the device to you in the condition received . If you have any questions, you can reply directly to this email and we will respond shortly.

    Thank you

  7. Ousley Early says:

    Hello Ousley Early,

    Hope all is well on your end. Thank you for sending in your device for evaluation. Samsung Lab received your device and concluded our analysis. They confirmed the earbuds worked as designed and have no physical damages. The issue you reported is skin irritation related which differs from person to person. Unfortunately due to lab results we are not able to refund since the earbuds work fine. We will have to deny your claim and return the device to you in the condition received . If you have any questions, you can reply directly to this email and we will respond shortly.

    Thank you

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