A preliminary study conducted by the ENT department at the PGI has shown that long-term mobile phone users are at a higher risk of developing hearing loss, particularly at higher speech frequencies.
Presence of fullness in the ears, ear warmth and prevalence of strange noises in the ear were some of the complaints that long-term mobile phone users faced frequently.
The study, conducted over a period of 18 months, studied nearly 100 long-term mobile phone users in Chandigarh.
The subjects were divided into three categories — people using mobile phones for one to two years, two to four years and above four years.
“The study was aimed to assess if long term mobile use had adverse effects on hearing and central auditory pathways,” said Dr Naresh Panda, HoD, of the Otolaryngology department. “We found that people using mobile phone for more than four years and for longer periods than 30 minutes in a day are at risk of developing hearing loss at a later stage,” Dr Panda added.
He said that the hearing level of the subjects were tested at different frequencies and certain abnormalities were recorded in these subjects.He added that use of earphones would help in minimising the risks. He said that most of the risks occurring due to electro magnetic radiation will be reduced , if the phone is held away from the ear.The team, including Dr Jaimanti Bakshi and Dr Rishab Jain, emphasised that the study was only preliminary and a larger study needs to be done to arrive at concrete conclusions.
“We want to tell people that there is a possibility of hear loss, which cannot be reversed,” said Dr Panda. The department has applied to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for more funds to conduct a larger study on the issue. “In order to reach a scientific conclusion we need to cover a larger population,” Dr Panda said.