Assessment of potential effects of the electromagnetic fields of mobile phones on hearing.

BMC public health · 2005 · No effect · Low evidence

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No effectLow evidencePaper 5189

Study snapshot

PublicationBMC public health · 2005

Study typeother

Reported directionNo effect

Evidence ratingLow

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Mobile phones have become indispensable as communication tools; however, to date there is only a limited knowledge about interaction between electromagnetic fields (EMF) emitted by mobile phones and auditory function. The aim of the study was to assess potential changes in hearing function as a consequence of exposure to low-intensity EMF's produced by mobile phones at frequencies of 900 and 1800 MHz. METHODS: The within-subject study was performed on thirty volunteers (age 18-30 years) with normal hearing to assess possible acute effect of EMF. Participants attended two sessions: genuine and sham exposure of EMF. Hearing threshold levels (HTL) on pure tone audiometry (PTA) and transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAE's) were recorded before and immediately after 10 min of genuine and/or sham exposure of mobile phone EMF. The administration of genuine or sham exposure was double blind and counterbalanced in order. RESULTS: Statistical analysis revealed no significant differences in the mean HTLs of PTA and mean shifts of TEOAE's before and after genuine and/or sham mobile phone EMF 10 min exposure. The data collected showed that average TEOAE levels (averaged across a frequency range) changed less than 2.5 dB between pre- and post-, genuine and sham exposure. The greatest individual change was 10 dB, with a decrease in level from pre- to post- real exposure. CONCLUSION: It could be concluded that a 10-min close exposure of EMFs emitted from a mobile phone had no immediate after-effect on measurements of HTL of PTA and TEOAEs in young human subjects and no measurable hearing deterioration was detected in our study.

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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 typeother

Effect directionno_effect

Population30 volunteers aged 18–30 years with normal hearing

Sample size30

ExposureRF · 10 min (acute; genuine vs sham exposure)

Evidence strengthLowConfidence: 78% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

In a double-blind, within-subject comparison of genuine versus sham mobile phone EMF exposure, no significant differences were found in mean PTA hearing thresholds or mean TEOAE shifts measured immediately after 10 minutes of exposure. Average TEOAE levels changed by less than 2.5 dB across conditions; the greatest individual change reported was a 10 dB decrease from pre- to post- real exposure.

Outcomes measured

Hearing threshold levels (HTL) on pure tone audiometry (PTA)
Transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAE) levels/shifts

Limitations

Small sample size (n=30)
Only young adults (18–30) with normal hearing were studied
Assessed only acute, immediate after-effects following 10 minutes of exposure
Exposure metrics beyond frequency (e.g., SAR, power) not reported in abstract

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "other",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "RF",
    "source": "mobile phone",
    "frequency_mhz": null,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": "10 min (acute; genuine vs sham exposure)"
  },
  "population": "30 volunteers aged 18–30 years with normal hearing",
  "sample_size": 30,
  "outcomes": [
    "Hearing threshold levels (HTL) on pure tone audiometry (PTA)",
    "Transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAE) levels/shifts"
  ],
  "main_findings": "In a double-blind, within-subject comparison of genuine versus sham mobile phone EMF exposure, no significant differences were found in mean PTA hearing thresholds or mean TEOAE shifts measured immediately after 10 minutes of exposure. Average TEOAE levels changed by less than 2.5 dB across conditions; the greatest individual change reported was a 10 dB decrease from pre- to post- real exposure.",
  "effect_direction": "no_effect",
  "limitations": [
    "Small sample size (n=30)",
    "Only young adults (18–30) with normal hearing were studied",
    "Assessed only acute, immediate after-effects following 10 minutes of exposure",
    "Exposure metrics beyond frequency (e.g., SAR, power) not reported in abstract"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "low",
  "confidence": 0.78,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "mobile phone",
    "electromagnetic fields",
    "RF",
    "900 MHz",
    "1800 MHz",
    "hearing",
    "pure tone audiometry",
    "otoacoustic emissions",
    "TEOAE",
    "double blind",
    "sham exposure"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": []
}

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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: 10.1186/1471-2458-5-39
PubMed: 15840162

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