[Hearing level and intensive use of mobile phones]
Garcia Callejo FJ, Garcia Callejo F, Pena Santamaria J, Alonso Castaneira I, Sebastian Gil E, Marco Algarra J. · 2005
View Original AbstractRegular mobile phone users showed measurable hearing loss after just three years compared to non-users.
Plain English Summary
Spanish researchers followed 323 regular mobile phone users for three years, comparing their hearing to a control group of non-users. Mobile phone users showed a small but statistically significant hearing loss of 1-5 decibels in speech frequencies compared to controls. The study suggests that regular mobile phone use may contribute to gradual hearing damage, though the exact cause remains unclear.
Why This Matters
This three-year longitudinal study provides important evidence that mobile phone use may affect hearing health in ways we're only beginning to understand. The researchers found measurable hearing loss in the speech frequency range - the very frequencies most critical for understanding conversations. What makes this study particularly significant is its prospective design, following the same people over time rather than relying on snapshots. The science demonstrates that even relatively modest mobile phone use (averaging about 17 days per year) can produce detectable changes in hearing thresholds. While the 1-5 decibel loss might seem small, any measurable hearing degradation in healthy adults raises concerns about cumulative effects over decades of use.
Exposure Information
Specific exposure levels were not quantified in this study.
Study Details
The aim of this study is to investigate Hearing level and intensive use of mobile phones
In a group of three hundred and twenty-three healthy and normoacoustic volunteers who were usual cos...
Cases carried out 24.3 +/- 8.2 active contacts, reaching 50.4 +/- 27.8 days of mobile phone employme...
Frequent management of mobile phones in a middle period of time allows to detect a mild hearing loss, but the cause of this disorder keeps unclear.
Show BibTeX
@article{fj_2005_hearing_level_and_intensive_2103,
author = {Garcia Callejo FJ and Garcia Callejo F and Pena Santamaria J and Alonso Castaneira I and Sebastian Gil E and Marco Algarra J.},
title = {[Hearing level and intensive use of mobile phones]},
year = {2005},
url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15960120/},
}