by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.
From time to time scientists have raised the question of cell (mobile) phone safety and how it may affect our brains since the antennas of cell phones are transmitting electromagnetic energy into our heads.
In the past there have been concerns that cell phone usage may cause various kinds of brain cancers. Now new concerns are being raised concerning whether the electromagnetic radiation from cell phones might also affect our hearing. In fact, just such a paper was presented at the 2010 American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Foundation (AAO-HNSF) annual meeting and Oto Expo September 26-29 in Boston, MA. (1)
Researchers studied 125 people who were long-term (more than one year) cell phone users and 58 controls who had never used cell phones. The purpose of this study was to assess and compare potential changes in hearing function both in the inner ear, and in the central auditory pathways in the brain due to chronic exposure to electromagnetic waves from using cell phones.
Everyone in the study underwent a battery of audiological tests including “pure tone audiometry (250-12 kHz), tympanometry, distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE), auditory brain responses (ABR), and middle latency responses (MLRs).”
The results of this study showed that people that had regularly used cell (mobile) phones for more than 3 years were at “a significantly higher risk of having DPOAEs absent as compared with controls. They were found to have higher speech frequency thresholds and lower MLR wave and Na and Pa amplitudes.” (1) In plain English, this means that cell phone users had more hearing loss than non-cell phone users. Interestingly enough, the hearing loss was the same in both ears, not just the ear to which the phone was normally held.
They concluded that long-term and intensive mobile phone use may “damage the cochlea and the auditory cortex”.
What does this mean to you? Just this—land-line (corded) phones are obviously safer—both to your health and to your hearing than cell phones.
If you are going to use a cell phone, keeping it as far away from your head as is reasonably possible would be a wise move. In other words, as much as possible, rather than holding the cell phone up to your ear, do texting, use the speaker-phone function, use a bluetooth headset or use an amplified neckloop or T-links. Using any of these methods/devices will keep your phone at some distance from your head. As a result, your phone will not be unnecessarily zapping your brain with excessive electromagnetic radiation and thus possibly causing you even more hearing loss.
If you have to hold your cell phone up to your head, keep your calls short. However, to be as safe as possible, whenever you are around a corded landline phone, use it in preference to your cell phone. (Although this study didn’t look at cordless landline phones, since they also produce electromagnetic radiation right at your head level, you might be wise to limit your use of these phones too—until long-term studies prove whether they are safe or not.)
(1) Panda, Naresh, et al. 2010. Auditory Changes in Mobile Users Is Evidence Forthcoming? Article presented at the 2010 AAO-HNSF Annual Meeting; September 26-29, 2010; Boston, Massachusetts.
how can i get more information about this topic i suffer of a hearing loss and i do not know if it was from a cell usage..
thank you..
I am just researching..
whenever i use mobile ph my both ears start burning and paining.Doc said that its due to the excess use of mobile phone.what shoud i do?is there any remedy
Hi Ritu:
Yes–quit using your cell phone! Use a landline phone instead.
Regards
Neil
I have sensorineural hearing loss. I have never used a mobile phone close to my head. I feel ill near a mobile phone and use the old fashioned type. Most electrical items like fridges also effect me. I feel like I am going to pass out. And I hear and feel the noise of these items. It’s not nice and can only get worse .
Hi Lee:
You are extra sensitive to electromagnetic radiation (EMR) and unfortunately, our world is full of devices that produce it. The only way to feel better is to live far away from sources of EMR–but that is seldom practical. You could make a Faraday cage of your house or at least a room in your house that would block out all this EMR and you’d feel much better.
You can also help yourself by eating more cruciferous vegetables. Here is an article that explains about EMR effects on your body and near the end talks about some foods that can help you. You can read it at https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2017/09/03/electromagnetic-fields-harmful-effects.aspx .
And here is another later article that focuses more on the foods that can help you with your EMR problems. You can read it at https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2018/01/08/reduce-emf-exposure.aspx
If you follow the recommendtions in these two articles, you will be doing what you can do to help you feel better.
Cordially,
Neil
Since 2014 when all cell phones were reproduced with digital high sound I have not been able to update my phone simply because all the new phones make me deaf. When I have tried it I’ve had to stop immediately because I would be able to hear.
Are they ever going to go with the old analog sound so that it would be safer for the ears?
Hi Chesca:
I doubt they’ll ever go back to analog phones.
Cordially,
Neil
Which diagnosis is usually for hear loss from mobile phone? My daughter loss hearing with 12 years after ear infection (also I read that under radiation with ear infection quicklier lost hearing). The doctor are looked her audiogram and every time told that she had otosclerosis but if I read about otosclerosis is wrote that you loose hearing in low frequencies. She loss in high frequencies and in researches I find that you lose high frequencies with mobile phone. She is not use mobile phone so much but we live near mobile tower and she went to kindergarten and school near radiotv antennas. So I guess that sum of all this is causes hear losing. With 5g we have terrible radiation everywhere and I am worry that we have more damage . Thanks for your reply
Hi Estera:
Otosclerosis is genetic and typically runs in families. If neither you nor any members of your extended family have otosclerosis, then the chance your daughter has otosclerosis is quite slim.
Hearing loss from using cell phones varies a lot from person to person. And since a lot of people stream music to their ears from their cell phones and listen to it at very loud levels, they can lose hearing from the loud sound levels more than from cell phone radiation.
Her hearing loss could be from other causes such as listening to loud music, or taking any of the hundreds of drugs that cause hearing loss. These are probably the two most common causes of hearing loss.
Cell phone and cell tower radiation typically affects other parts of your body as well as your ears. So if she is not sensitive to cell phone radiation, then it is probably not affecting her ears much either.
Cordially,
Neil