Effects on auditory function of chronic exposure to electromagnetic fields from mobile phones | ||||
| Sohag Medical Journal | ||||
| Article 9, Volume 23, Issue 2, April 2019, Page 18-23 PDF (357.82 K) | ||||
| Document Type: Original Article | ||||
| DOI: 10.21608/smj.2019.45688 | ||||
 View on SCiNiTO | ||||
| Author | ||||
| Maha Ahmed Ebrahim | ||||
| Audiology Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Sohag University. | ||||
| Abstract | ||||
| The widespread use of mobile phones has given rise to apprehension regarding the possible hazardous health effects of high-frequency electromagnetic fields (EMFs) on auditory function. We conducted a study to investigate the effects of long-term (>4 yr) exposure to EMFs emitted by mobile phones on auditory function. My study population was made up of 40 healthy medical students—31 men and 9 women, aged 20 to 30 years (mean 22.7). Of this group, 31 subjects typically held their phone to the right ear and 9 to the left ear; the non–phone-using ear served as each subject’s control ear. The phone-using subjects were also split into two groups of 20 based on the duration of their daily phone use (≤60 min vs. >60 min). All subjects underwent pure-tone audiometry, speech audiometry, impedance audiometry, and brainstem evoked response audiometry (BERA), and comparisons were made between the phone-using ear and the control ear and between the shorter and longer duration of daily use. We found no statistically significant differences in high-frequency pure-tone average between the phone using ears and the control ears (p = 0.69) or between the shorter- and longer-duration phone-using ears (p = 0.85). Moreover, statistical analysis of BERA findings revealed no significant differences between the phone-using ears and the control ears in terms of wave I-III, III-V, and I-V interpeak latencies (p = 0.59, 0.74 and 0.44, respectively). None of the subjects reported any subjective symptoms, such as headache, tinnitus, or sensations of burning or warmth behind, around, or on the phone-using ear. I conclude that long-term exposure to EMFs from mobile phones does not affect auditory function. | ||||
|
Supplementary Files
|
||||
| References | ||||
|
1. Kayabasoglu G, Sezen OS, Eraslan G, et al. Effect of chronic exposure to cellular telephone electromagnetic fields on hearing in rats. J Laryngol Otol 2011;125(4):348-53.
2. Dimbylow PJ, Mann SM. SAR calculations in an anatomically realistic model of the head for mobile communication transceivers at 900 MHz and 1.8 GHz. Phys Med Biol 1994;39(10):1537-53.
3. Heynick LN, Johnston SA, Mason PA. Radiofrequency electromagnetic fields: Cancer, mutagenesis, and genotoxicity. Bioelectromagnetics 2003; Suppl 6: S74-100.
4. Frey AH. Headaches from cellular telephones: Are they real and what are the implications? Environ Health Perspect 1998;106(3):101-3.
5. Oftedal G, Wilén J, Sandström M, Mild KH. Symptoms experienced in connection with mobile phone use. Occup Med (Lond) 2000;50(4):237-45.
6. Fritze K, Sommer C, Schmitz B, et al. Effect of global system for mobile communication (GSM) microwave exposure on blood-brain barrier permeability in rat. Acta Neuropathol 1997;94(5):465-70.
7. Braune S, Wrocklage C, Raczek J, et al. Resting blood pressure increase during exposure to a radio-frequency electromagnetic field. Lancet 1998;351(9119):1857-8. 8. Borbély AA, Huber R, Graf T, et al. Pulsed high-frequency electromagnetic field affects human sleep and sleep electroencephalogram. Neurosci Lett 1999;275(3):207-10.
9. Preece AW, Iwi G, Davies-Smith A, et al. Effect of a 915-MHz simulated mobile phone signal on cognitive function in man. Int J Radiat Biol 1999;75(4):447-56.
10. Repacholi MH, Basten A, Gebski V, et al. Lymphomas in E mu-Pim1 transgenic mice exposed to pulsed 900 MHZ electromagnetic fields. Radiat Res 1997;147(5):631-40.
11. Burkhardt M, Spinelli Y, Kuster N. Exposure setup to test effects of wireless communications system on the CNS. Health Phys 1997;73(5):770-8.
12. Kerekhanjanarong V, Supiyaphun P, Naratricoon J, Laungpitackchumpon P. The effect of mobile phone to audiologic system. J Med Assoc Thai 2005;88(Suppl 4): S231-4.
13. Oktay MF, Dasdag S. Effects of intensive and moderate cellular phone use on hearing function. Electromagn Biol Med 2006;25(1):13-21.
14. Oktay MF, Dasdag S, Akdere M, et al. Occupational safety: Effects of workplace radiofrequencies on hearing function. Arch Med Res 2004;35(6):517-21.
15. Panda NK, Jain R, Bakshi J, Munjal S. Audiologic disturbances in long-term mobile phone users. J Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2010;39(1):5-11.
16. Independent Expert Group on Mobile Phones. Mobile phones and health. Chilton, Oxfordshire, U.K.: National Radiological protection Board; 2000. Available http://www.femp.es/files/3580-254- fichero/06%20 %20Informe%20Stewart%202000.pdf. Accessed June 9, 2016.
17. Szentpáli B. Human exposure to electromagnetic fields from mobile telephones. Presented at: 4th International Conference on Communications in Modern Satellite, Cable, and Broadcasting Services. Nis, Yugoslavia: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers; Oct. 13-15, 1999; Nis, Yugoslavia.
18. IEEE standard for safety levels with respect to human exposure to radio frequency electromagnetic fields, 3kHz to 300 GHz. New York: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers; 1992.
Hermann DM, Hossmann KA. Neurological effects of microwave exposure related to mobile communication. J Neurol Sci 1997;152(1):1-14.
20. Galeev AL. Effects of the microwave radiation from the cellular phones on humans and animals [in Russian]. Ross Fiziol Zh Im I M Sechenova 1998;84(11):1293-1302.
21. Galeev AL. The effects of microwave radiation from mobile telephones on humans and animals. Neurosci Behav Physiol 2000;30(2):187-94.
22. Arai N, Enomoto H, Okabe S, et al. Thirty minutes mobile phone use has no short-term adverse effects on central auditory pathways. Clin Neurophysiol 2003;114(8):1390-4.
23. Uloziene I, Uloza V, Gradauskiene E, Saferis V. Assessment of potential effects of the electromagnetic fields of mobile phones on hearing. BMC Public Health 2005;5:39.
24. Mora R, Crippa B, Mora F, Dellepiane M. A study of the effects of cellular telephone microwave radiation on the auditory system in healthy men. Ear Nose Throat J 2006;85(3):160, 162-3.
25. Davidson HC, Lutman ME. Survey of mobile phone use and their chronic effects on the hearing of a student population. Int J Audiol 2007;46(3):113-18.
26. Hietanen M, Hämäläinen AM, Husman T. Hypersensitivity symptoms associated with exposure to cellular telephones: No causal link. Bioelectromagnetics 2002;23(4):264-70.
27. García Callejo FJ, García Callejo F, Peña Santamaria J, et al. Hearing level and intensive use of mobile phones [in Spanish]. Acta Otorrinolaringol Esp 2005;56(5):187-91.
28. Oysu C, Topak M, Celik O, et al. Effects of the acute exposure to the electromagnetic field of mobile phones on human auditory brainstem responses. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 2005;262(10):839-43.
29. Bak M, Sliwinska-Kowalska M, Zmyslony M, Dudarewicz A. No effects of acute exposure to the electromagnetic field emitted by mobile phones on brainstem auditory potentials in young volunteers. Int J Occup Med Environ Health 2003;16(3):201-8. 30. Kellényi L, Thuróczy G, Faludy B, Lénárd L. Effects of mobile GSM radiotelephone exposure on the auditory brainstem response (ABR). Neurobiology (Bp) 1999;7(1):79-81. | ||||
|
Statistics Article View: 249 PDF Download: 352 |
||||
