The acute auditory effects of exposure for 60 minutes to mobile’s electromagnetic field

OBJECTIVE: To assess the immediate consequences of 60 minutes exposure to mobile phones on hearing function by determining changes in distortion product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE) and hearing threshold levels (HTLs).

METHODS: This prospective control clinical trial study was carried out at the Ear, Nose and Throat Department, King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from July 2009 to July 2011. The data collected included age, symptoms experienced after exposure, and HTLs and DPOAE were recorded before, and immediately after 60 minutes of exposure to the same model of mobile phone.

RESULTS: Heat/pain was the most commonly reported symptom. In the test-ears, significant shift (p<0.05) was noticed in HTLs at 1000 and 2000 Hz but not at other frequencies, while non test-ears did not reveal significant shift in HTLs. Additionally, test-ears revealed significant differences (p<0.05) in DPOAE at 1000 Hz, 1400 Hz, 2000 Hz, and at the average of all frequencies, while non test-ears did not show significant differences.

CONCLUSION: Sixty minutes of close exposure to electromagnetic fields emitted by a mobile phone had an immediate effect on HTL assessed by pure-tone audiogram and inner ear (assessed by DPOAE) in young human subjects. It also caused a number of other otologic symptoms.