title: Effects on auditory function of chronic exposure to electromagnetic fields from mobile phones.
abstract: The widespread use of mobile phones has given rise to apprehension regarding the possible hazardous health effects of high-frequency electromagnetic fields (EMFs) on auditory function. We conducted a study to investigate the effects of long-term (>4 yr) exposure to EMFs emitted by mobile phones on auditory function. Our study population was made up of 40 healthy medical students-31 men and 9 women, aged 20 to 30 years (mean 22.7). Of this group, 31 subjects typically held their phone to the right ear and 9 to the left ear; the non-phone-using ear served as each subject's control ear. The phone-using subjects were also split into two groups of 20 based on the duration of their daily phone use (≤60 min vs. >60 min). All subjects underwent pure-tone audiometry, speech audiometry, impedance audiometry, and brainstem evoked response audiometry (BERA), and comparisons were made between the phone-using ear and the control ear and between the shorter and longer duration of daily use. We found no statistically significant differences in high-frequency pure-tone average between the phone-using ears and the control ears (p = 0.69) or between the shorter- and longer-duration phone-using ears (p = 0.85). Moreover, statistical analysis of BERA findings revealed no significant differences between the phone-using ears and the control ears in terms of wave I-III, III-V, and I-V interpeak latencies (p = 0.59, 0.74 and 0.44, respectively). None of the subjects reported any subjective symptoms, such as headache, tinnitus, or sensations of burning or warmth behind, around, or on the phone-using ear. We conclude that the long-term exposure to EMFs from mobile phones does not affect auditory function.
authors.affiliation: Department of ENT, Government Medical College, Patiala, Punjab, India sbent224@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Sanjeev
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bhagat
authors.forename: Saurabh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Varshney
authors.forename: Sampan Singh
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Bist
authors.forename: Deepak
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Goel
authors.forename: Sarita
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mishra
authors.forename: Vivek Kumar
authors.initials: VK
authors.lastname: Jha
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001299:Audiometry / Q000379:methods; D001309:Auditory Threshold / Q000502:physiology*; D040421:Cell Phone; D004574:Electromagnetic Fields / Q000009:adverse effects*; D016057:Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Brain Stem / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D064368:Healthy Volunteers; D006309:Hearing / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult