Mobile phone users and its effect of hearing in terms of distortion product otoacoustic emission

2018 · Harm · Low evidence

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HarmLow evidencePaper 1922

In mostly right-handed mobile phone users, 21% showed Refer/Fail OAE. The higher frequency at 6 kHz was reported as more affected compared with 2, 3, 4, and 6 kHz tested frequencies.

Study snapshot

Publicationmanual · 2018

Study typecross_sectional

Reported directionHarm

Evidence ratingLow

Abstract

Mobile phone users and its effect of hearing in terms of distortion product otoacoustic emission Kumar G, Gupa N, Sinha NK. Mobile phone users and its effect of hearing in terms of distortion product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE). Journal of Evolution of Medical and Dental Sciences. 7(52):5520-5523. Dec. 24, 2018. DOI:10.14260/jemds/2018/1222. Abstract BACKGROUND Cellular phones/ mobile phones are the new addiction in today's society. They can do pretty much everything from making calls to controlling remotely located devices/cameras. Mobile phones, owing to their user-friendly interface and reasonable prices are being used by people from every socioeconomic section and almost all the age groups. Such a rampant use of these devices makes them potentially powerful tools. The convenience, that these devices offer, easily overlooks the cost our health has to pay because of their continuous and prolonged use. The main technology that these devices use nowadays is Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). Mobile phones emit a pulsed high-frequency electromagnetic (EM) field that may have adverse effects. The disturbances of the mechanoelectrical transduction during cellular phone use, especially because there is a close proximity of the cellular phone to the cochlea resulting in a fairly high absorption rate of the incident electromagnetic field (EM). Aim - To assess hearing loss in mobile phone users. MATERIALS AND METHODS This is a descriptive study conducted among mobile phone users in the Department of ENT at T.S. Misra Medical College and Hospital from January 2017 to June 2018 consisting of 190 healthy volunteers between the age of 21 and 50 years. RESULTS Mostly in Rt. handed mobile user had shown Refer/Fail OAE 21%, out of which, higher frequency 6 KHz is affected more in comparison of all four frequency of (2, 3, 4 & 6 KHz). CONCLUSION The study concludes that the use of mobile phones can cause damage to the Outer Hair Cells (OHCs) in the Cochlea especially in the basal turn which may impair hearing in long term use. Oto Acoustic Emissions from the cochlea can reliably detect this damage and thus has proven to be an excellent diagnostic tool. jemds.com

Machine Enhanced Logic

AI evidence extraction

Structured fields below were generated from the paper’s abstract and metadata to make the evidence easier to inspect. Automated extraction may be incomplete or incorrect; verify important details against the original paper.

Study typecross_sectional

Effect directionharm

Population190 healthy mobile phone user volunteers aged 21–50 years (Department of ENT, T.S. Misra Medical College and Hospital)

Sample size190

ExposureRF · continuous and prolonged use (not quantified)

Evidence strengthLowConfidence: 72% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

In mostly right-handed mobile phone users, 21% showed Refer/Fail OAE. The higher frequency at 6 kHz was reported as more affected compared with 2, 3, 4, and 6 kHz tested frequencies.

Outcomes measured

Hearing loss
Distortion product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE)/OAE refer-fail status
Outer hair cell (OHC) damage (inferred from OAE findings)

Limitations

Described as a descriptive study; design details (e.g., control group, exposure quantification) not provided in abstract
Mobile phone exposure metrics (duration, call time, side of use, intensity/SAR, frequency) not quantified in abstract
Potential confounding factors and statistical methods not described in abstract
Outcome reporting is limited (e.g., unclear denominators and comparisons beyond right-handed users)

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "cross_sectional",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "RF",
    "source": "mobile phone",
    "frequency_mhz": null,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": "continuous and prolonged use (not quantified)"
  },
  "population": "190 healthy mobile phone user volunteers aged 21–50 years (Department of ENT, T.S. Misra Medical College and Hospital)",
  "sample_size": 190,
  "outcomes": [
    "Hearing loss",
    "Distortion product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE)/OAE refer-fail status",
    "Outer hair cell (OHC) damage (inferred from OAE findings)"
  ],
  "main_findings": "In mostly right-handed mobile phone users, 21% showed Refer/Fail OAE. The higher frequency at 6 kHz was reported as more affected compared with 2, 3, 4, and 6 kHz tested frequencies.",
  "effect_direction": "harm",
  "limitations": [
    "Described as a descriptive study; design details (e.g., control group, exposure quantification) not provided in abstract",
    "Mobile phone exposure metrics (duration, call time, side of use, intensity/SAR, frequency) not quantified in abstract",
    "Potential confounding factors and statistical methods not described in abstract",
    "Outcome reporting is limited (e.g., unclear denominators and comparisons beyond right-handed users)"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "low",
  "confidence": 0.72,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "mobile phone",
    "cellular phone",
    "GSM",
    "radiofrequency",
    "electromagnetic field",
    "hearing loss",
    "cochlea",
    "outer hair cells",
    "otoacoustic emissions",
    "DPOAE"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "mobile-phones",
      "weight": 0.95,
      "reason": "Study evaluates hearing-related outcomes in mobile phone users and discusses GSM EM field exposure."
    }
  ]
}

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AI-extracted fields are generated from the abstract and metadata and may be incomplete or incorrect. This material is for informational purposes and is not medical advice.

Identifiers and source

DOI: 10.14260/jemds/2018/1222
PubMed: Not supplied

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