A study on the effect of prolonged mobile phone use on pure tone audiometry thresholds of medical students of Sikkim.
Das S, Chakraborty S, Mahanta B. · 2017
View Original AbstractMedical students showed measurable hearing loss in their phone-exposed ear after 5+ years of regular use, suggesting cumulative auditory damage from mobile phone radiation.
Plain English Summary
Researchers tested the hearing of medical students who had been using mobile phones for at least 5 years, comparing the ear they typically hold their phone to versus their other ear. They found measurable hearing loss in the phone-exposed ear at high frequencies (2, 4, and 8 kHz), with both air and bone conduction thresholds significantly elevated compared to the unexposed ear. This suggests that regular mobile phone use may gradually damage hearing, particularly at frequencies important for understanding speech.
Why This Matters
This study adds to a growing body of evidence linking mobile phone radiation to auditory damage. What makes this research particularly compelling is its elegant design - using each person as their own control by comparing exposed versus unexposed ears. The reality is that most of us hold our phones to the same ear consistently, creating a natural experiment in long-term EMF exposure. The finding that both air and bone conduction were affected suggests the damage goes beyond just the outer ear structures. While the study doesn't specify exact exposure levels, medical students represent heavy phone users - a population increasingly common as mobile devices become central to daily life. The authors' conclusion is telling: until we have more concrete evidence about safe exposure levels, the prudent approach is limiting phone use duration.
Exposure Information
Specific exposure levels were not quantified in this study. The study examined exposure from: 2 kHz, 4 kHz, and 8 kHz
Study Details
The objective of the study was to study the effect of mobile phone on average pure tone audiometry (PTA) threshold of the person and to study the changes in the pure tone threshold at high frequencies such as 2 kHz, 4 kHz, and 8 kHz among the students with prolonged exposure to mobile phones.
A cross-sectional study was conducted among the medical students who have been using mobile phones f...
The study shows that there is a significant difference in average air conduction (AC) and bone condu...
The study conducted shows changes in the hearing threshold of the exposed ear when compared with the nonexposed ear. There are however lot of unanswered questions which provide an interesting avenue for further research. Till concrete evidence is available the only feasible way to control its exposure is to limit the duration of usage of mobile phones.
Show BibTeX
@article{s_2017_a_study_on_the_2014,
author = {Das S and Chakraborty S and Mahanta B.},
title = {A study on the effect of prolonged mobile phone use on pure tone audiometry thresholds of medical students of Sikkim.},
year = {2017},
url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28272071/},
}