Auditory Brainstem Responses and EMFs Generated by Mobile Phones.
Khullar S1, Sood A2, Sood S3. · 2013
View Original AbstractTen years of moderate mobile phone use significantly delayed nerve signals in the auditory pathway, suggesting cumulative EMF damage over time.
Plain English Summary
Researchers studied how mobile phone use affects the auditory brainstem response (ABR), which measures how well nerve signals travel from the ear to the brain. They found that people who used phones for 30 minutes daily over 10 years showed significantly delayed nerve transmission compared to non-users, while 5-year users showed no effects. This suggests prolonged mobile phone exposure may impair the peripheral auditory pathway that processes sound.
Why This Matters
This study adds to growing evidence that chronic EMF exposure affects nervous system function, even at the moderate usage levels many consider safe. What's particularly striking is the clear duration-dependent effect - 5 years showed no impact, but 10 years of the same daily exposure produced measurable neurological changes. The 30-minute daily exposure studied here is actually below average for many smartphone users today, who often exceed 2-3 hours of daily screen time with the device held close to their head during calls. The auditory brainstem response is a well-established clinical measure, making these findings difficult to dismiss as measurement artifacts. While the researchers appropriately call for more studies on newer technologies, the reality is that 3G and 4G phones often emit higher power levels than the older GSM phones studied here.
Exposure Information
Specific exposure levels were not quantified in this study. Duration: 30 min/day for 5 years, 10 years for a maximum of 30 min/day
Study Details
The aim of our study was to advance our understanding of the potential adverse effects of GSM mobile phones on auditory brainstem responses (ABRs).
60 subjects were selected for the study and divided into three groups of 20 each based on their usag...
Results revealed no significant difference in the ABR parameters between group A (control group) and...
Based on our findings we concluded that long term exposure to mobile phones may affect conduction in the peripheral portion of the auditory pathway. However more research needs to be done to study the long term effects of mobile phones particularly of newer technologies like smart phones and 3G.
Show BibTeX
@article{s1_2013_auditory_brainstem_responses_and_2279,
author = {Khullar S1 and Sood A2 and Sood S3.},
title = {Auditory Brainstem Responses and EMFs Generated by Mobile Phones.},
year = {2013},
url = {https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3889369/},
}