Can Cell Phones Contribute to Tinnitus?
Can you hear me now?
Cell phone usage continues to rise and there are concerns over the possible side effects resulting from these handy items. Now, a small clinical study conducted in Austria has concluded that regular cell phone use may increase the risk of developing persistent tinnitus.
Dr. Hans-Peter Hutter of the Institute of Environmental Health at the Medical University of Vienna noted that "high intensity, long duration of mobile phone use might be associated with occurrence of tinnitus. Therefore, we are recommending a far more conscious and cautious way of using mobile phones."
Hutter’s team studied 100 people treated for chronic tinnitus and 100 without it. The participants were asked a variety of questions about their cell phone use.
The study estimated that people who used a cell phone before the first symptoms of tinnitus appeared were 37 percent more likely to develop the condition than those in the control group. Also, people who used their cell phone for at least 10 minutes a day were 71 percent more likely to develop tinnitus than the other study participants.
While individuals reported that they used their cell phones on both ears, instances of tinnitus were usually found in just one ear. The study went on to postulate the the high amounts of microwave energy absorbed was likely responsible for the tinnitus.
However, one American physician, Dr. Thomas Balkany of the University of Miami Ear Institute believes that the study’s data failed to support their conclusions. According to Dr. Balkany the data is “very weak.” He believes that the researchers of the study did not look at other common causes of tinnitus, including stress, anxiety and depression as well as the increased use of MP3 players.
A weak relationship seems to exist between tinnitus and cell phone use, Balkany said, "but it’s not causative in any way." A much larger study would be needed to determine whether cell phones really can cause tinnitus, he said.
Here, at Arches we believe in erring toward the side of caution. In the scheme of things cell phones are a relatively new dimension to our world and long term side effects (if any) have yet to be fully understood. Limiting cell phone usage, using headsets or blue tooth devices are just a few ways to lessen direct contact with microwave energy put out.
Brent Curtis
Source- US News & World Report
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Can you hear me now?
Cell phone usage continues to rise and there are concerns over the possible side effects resulting from these handy items. Now, a small clinical study conducted in Austria has concluded that regular cell phone use may increase the risk of developing persistent tinnitus.
Dr. Hans-Peter Hutter of the Institute of Environmental Health at the Medical University of Vienna noted that "high intensity, long duration of mobile phone use might be associated with occurrence of tinnitus. Therefore, we are recommending a far more conscious and cautious way of using mobile phones."
Hutter’s team studied 100 people treated for chronic tinnitus and 100 without it. The participants were asked a variety of questions about their cell phone use.
The study estimated that people who used a cell phone before the first symptoms of tinnitus appeared were 37 percent more likely to develop the condition than those in the control group. Also, people who used their cell phone for at least 10 minutes a day were 71 percent more likely to develop tinnitus than the other study participants.
While individuals reported that they used their cell phones on both ears, instances of tinnitus were usually found in just one ear. The study went on to postulate the the high amounts of microwave energy absorbed was likely responsible for the tinnitus.
However, one American physician, Dr. Thomas Balkany of the University of Miami Ear Institute believes that the study’s data failed to support their conclusions. According to Dr. Balkany the data is “very weak.” He believes that the researchers of the study did not look at other common causes of tinnitus, including stress, anxiety and depression as well as the increased use of MP3 players.
A weak relationship seems to exist between tinnitus and cell phone use, Balkany said, "but it’s not causative in any way." A much larger study would be needed to determine whether cell phones really can cause tinnitus, he said.
Here, at Arches we believe in erring toward the side of caution. In the scheme of things cell phones are a relatively new dimension to our world and long term side effects (if any) have yet to be fully understood. Limiting cell phone usage, using headsets or blue tooth devices are just a few ways to lessen direct contact with microwave energy put out.
Brent Curtis
Source- US News & World Report
Book Mark it-> del.icio.us | Reddit | Slashdot | Digg | Facebook | Technorati | Google | StumbleUpon | Window Live | Tailrank | Furl | Netscape | Yahoo | BlinkList
