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Brain & Nervous System

Effect of chronic exposure to cellular telephone electromagnetic fields on hearing in rats.

No Effects Found

Kayabasoglu G, Sezen OS, Eraslan G, Aydin E, Coskuner T, Unver S. · 2011

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Month-long cell phone EMF exposure showed no hearing damage in rats, suggesting typical phone use may not harm inner ear function.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Turkish researchers exposed rats to cell phone electromagnetic fields for 6 hours daily over 30 days to test whether EMF radiation damages hearing. Using sensitive hearing tests that measure inner ear function, they found no changes in hearing ability in either newborn or adult rats after the month-long exposure. This suggests that typical cell phone EMF exposure may not directly harm the delicate structures of the inner ear that are responsible for hearing.

Why This Matters

This study addresses an important practical concern - whether holding cell phones to our ears for extended periods could damage our hearing. The researchers used distortion product otoacoustic emissions, a sensitive test that can detect subtle changes in inner ear function before hearing loss becomes apparent. The 6-hour daily exposure far exceeds typical cell phone use patterns, making this a reasonably robust test of potential hearing damage. However, the study has notable limitations: the specific EMF exposure levels weren't reported, and rat hearing differs from human hearing in important ways. While this research suggests cell phone EMF may not directly damage hearing mechanisms, it represents just one study in a complex field where effects can vary based on frequency, power levels, and individual susceptibility.

Exposure Information

Specific exposure levels were not quantified in this study. Duration: 6 hours per day, for 30 consecutive days

Study Details

To study the effects of the electromagnetic field emitted by cellular telephones upon the inner ear of rats, using distortion product otoacoustic emissions.

Forty Wistar Albino rats were used. Twenty newborn and 20 adult rats were divided into two groups of...

For both the newborn and adult rat groups, there was no significant difference in distortion product...

Exposure to the electromagnetic field emitted by cellular telephones, for 6 hours a day for 30 consecutive days, had no effect on the hearing of newborn or adult rats, at the outer ear, middle ear or cochlear level.

Cite This Study
Kayabasoglu G, Sezen OS, Eraslan G, Aydin E, Coskuner T, Unver S. (2011). Effect of chronic exposure to cellular telephone electromagnetic fields on hearing in rats. J Laryngol Otol. 125(4):348-353, 2011.
Show BibTeX
@article{g_2011_effect_of_chronic_exposure_3130,
  author = {Kayabasoglu G and Sezen OS and Eraslan G and Aydin E and Coskuner T and Unver S.},
  title = {Effect of chronic exposure to cellular telephone electromagnetic fields on hearing in rats.},
  year = {2011},
  
  url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21059276/},
}
PubMed: 21059276

Cited By (16 papers)

Quick Questions About This Study

No, Turkish researchers found that 6 hours of daily cell phone electromagnetic field exposure for 30 consecutive days caused no hearing damage in rats. Sensitive tests measuring inner ear function showed no changes in hearing ability in either newborn or adult rats after the month-long exposure period.
No, a 2011 study found no significant differences in distortion product otoacoustic emissions before and after 30 days of cell phone electromagnetic field exposure. These sensitive hearing tests measure inner ear function, and results showed no changes in either newborn or adult rat groups.
No, both newborn and adult rats showed identical resistance to hearing damage from cell phone electromagnetic fields. After 30 days of 6-hour daily exposure, neither age group experienced changes in outer ear, middle ear, or cochlear function according to Turkish researchers.
No, a month-long study exposing rats to cell phone electromagnetic fields for 6 hours daily found no effects on cochlear function. Researchers used distortion product otoacoustic emissions to measure the delicate inner ear structures responsible for hearing and detected no damage.
No, cell phone electromagnetic field exposure had no effect on any level of the auditory system according to a 2011 rat study. After 30 days of 6-hour daily exposure, researchers found no changes in outer ear, middle ear, or cochlear structures in either newborn or adult rats.