Adverse Effect of Mobile Phone on Hearing in Healthy Individuals: A Clinical Study

The mobile phone is a ubiquitous piece in this modern world. An estimated 85% of Americans, 80% of the British, and perhaps 75% of Indians use it, as of today. Mobile phones communicate by transmitting radio waves through a network of fixed antennas called base stations. Radio frequency waves are electromagnetic fields, and unlike ionizing radiation such as X-rays or gamma rays, can neither break chemical bonds nor cause ionization in the human body. 1000 participants from outpatient department of a tertiary care center over a period of one and a half years, were included in the study and were divided equally into case (> 1 year use) and control (< 1 year use) groups. Out of 500 cases, maximum 233(46.6%) subjects were using mobile since last 4–6 year and 134(26.8%) were using mobile since last 7–9 year and maximum 344(68.8%) subjects were using mobile 1–3 h/day and 145(29.0%) were using mobile 4–6 h/day.