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Survey of mobile phone use and their chronic effects on the hearing of a student population.

No Effects Found

Davidson HC, Lutman ME. · 2007

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Students using mobile phones up to 45 minutes daily showed no hearing problems, but this doesn't reflect today's much higher usage levels.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers surveyed 117 university students about their mobile phone use and hearing health to see if cell phone radiation causes hearing problems, tinnitus, or balance issues. They found that 94% of students used mobile phones regularly (up to 45 minutes daily for up to 7 years), but heavy users reported no more hearing problems than light users. The study suggests that typical mobile phone use doesn't appear to damage the hearing system, at least based on users' own reports of their symptoms.

Study Details

This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of student mobile phone ownership and any possible chronic effects of usage on hearing, tinnitus and balance.

Questionnaires for electronic self-completion were distributed to University of Southampton postgrad...

The results of this study confirm that the prevalence of mobile phone ownership amongst students is extremely high. However there appear to be no harmful effects of mobile phone usage on their audiovestibular systems within the range of exposure of the study, insofar as can be detected by the self-report method employed.

Cite This Study
Davidson HC, Lutman ME. (2007). Survey of mobile phone use and their chronic effects on the hearing of a student population. Int J Audiol. 46(3):113-118, 2007.
Show BibTeX
@article{hc_2007_survey_of_mobile_phone_2996,
  author = {Davidson HC and Lutman ME.},
  title = {Survey of mobile phone use and their chronic effects on the hearing of a student population.},
  year = {2007},
  
  url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17365064/},
}
PubMed: 17365064

Cited By (33 papers)

Quick Questions About This Study

A 2007 study of 117 university students found no hearing damage from daily mobile phone use up to 45 minutes. Students who used phones heavily for up to 7 years reported no more hearing problems, tinnitus, or balance issues than light users.
The Davidson and Lutman study found texting was more popular than talking among students, but this didn't affect hearing outcomes. Both heavy and light users showed no difference in hearing problems regardless of whether they texted or talked more.
No balance problems were reported among 117 university students surveyed about mobile phone use. The 2007 study found that 94% of students used phones regularly, but heavy users had no more balance issues than occasional users.
Based on a student survey covering up to 7 years of mobile phone ownership and 45 minutes daily use, researchers found no harmful effects on hearing systems. Self-reported symptoms showed no difference between heavy and light users.
A University of Southampton study found 94% of students were current mobile phone users, with only 2% having never used one. This extremely high ownership rate allowed researchers to compare heavy versus light users for hearing effects.