Microwave
hearing:
The phenomenon of a microwave-induced auditory sensation in
humans and animals is a well-established effect (Lin, 2002).
It is thought to be due to the microwave pulse causing a thermoelastic
wave of pressure that travels by bone conduction to the inner
ear. A single microwave pulse can be perceived as an acoustic
click or knocking sound, and a train of microwave pulses to
the head can be sensed as an audible tune (Lin, 2002). Elder
and Chou (2003) published a detailed review of this subject.
Experiments with exposure to microwaves:
One paper reported no effect on hearing after a 10-minute exposure
to EMF from a GSM cell phone (Ozturan, 2002). Uloziene (2005)
reported no effect on hearing from a 10-minute exposure to
either 900 or 1800 MHz. Janssen (2005) and Parazzini (2005)
found no significant change in distortion product otoacoustic
emissions levels in response to EMFs at 900 MHz. Parazzini
et al. (2007), in a European Commission "Guard" project,
found no effects on the auditory system of exposure to GSM
phone signals at 900 or 1800 MHz.
Kellenyi,
(1999) found changes in the auditory brainstem response after
a 15 minute exposure, but no details are given of the SAR in
the experiment. Arai (2003), Oysu (2005), Sievert (2005) and
Mora (2006), however, found no changes in auditory brainstem
responses after exposure to mobile phone signals at 800-900
MHz.
Pau (2005)
found no effect on the vestibular function of the ear from exposure
to an 889.6 MHz field.
Oktay (2006) tested volunteers who had used their cell phone
frequently for 4 years, and compared them with moderate- and
non-users. Pure tone audiometry revealed lowering of detection
thresholds in some frequencies in the frequent users. However,
no allowance was made for other factors that could have influenced
the outcome, and the study was not blinded.
References:
Authors
Arai N, Enomoto H, Okabe S, Yuasa K.
Title
Thirty minutes mobile phone use has no short-term adverse effects
on central auditory pathways.
Journal
Clin Neurophysiol 2003;114:1390-1394.
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Authors
Balbani APS, Montovani JC.
Title
Mobile phones: influence on auditory and vestibular systems.
Journal
Rev. Bras. Otorrinolaringol 2008;74(1):125-131.
Authors
Janssen T, Boege P, von Mikusch-Buchberg J, Raczek J.
Title
Investigation of potential effects of cellular phones on human
auditory function by means of distortion product otoacoustic
emissions.
Journal
J Acoust Soc Am 2005;117:1241-7.
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Authors
Kaprana AE, Karatzanis AD, Prokopakis EP, Panagiotaki IE, Vardiambasis IO, Adamidis G, Christodoulou P, Velegrakis GA.
Title
Studying the effects of mobile phone use on the auditory system and the central nervous system: a review of the literature and future directions.
Journal
Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol. Ahead of print 27 May 2008.
Author
Kellenyi L, Thuroczy GY, Faludy B, Lenard L
Title
Effects of mobile GSM radiotelephone exposure on the auditory
brainstem response.
Journal
Neurobiology 1999;7:79-81
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Authors
Kwon MS, Jääskeläinen SK, Toivo T, Hämäläinen H.
Title
No effects of mobile phone electromagnetic field on auditory brainstem response.
Journal
Bioelectromagnetics. Jul 16, 2009 Ahead of print.
Authors
Mora R, Crippa B, Mora F, Dellepiane M.
Title
A study of the effects of cellular telephone microwave radiation
on the auditory system in healthy men.
Journal
Ear Nose Throat J 2006;85:162-3.
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Authors
Moulin AM, Parazzini M, Lutman ME, Thuroczy G, Sliwinska-Kowalska M, Tavarkiladze
G, Uloziene I, Uloza V, Mishra S, Collet L, Ravazzani P.
Title
Potential adverse effects of UMTS electromagnetic fields generated by mobile
phones on the human inner ear: A European project (EMFNEAR).
Journal
J Acoust Soc Am. 2008;123(5):3856.
Authors
Oktay MF, Dasdag S.
Title
Effects of intensive and moderate cellular telephone use on
hearing function.
Journal
Electromagnetic Biology and Medicine 2006;25:13-21.
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Author
Oysu C, Topak M, Celik O, Yilmaz HB, et al.
Title
Effects of the acute exposure to the electromagnetic field of
mobile phones on human auditory brainstem responses.
Journal
Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 2005 Feb 25 (Epub ahead of print).
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Author
Ozturan O, Erdem T, Miman MC, Kalcioglu MT, et al.
Title
Effects of the electromagnetic field of mobile telephones on
hearing
Journal
Acta Otolaryngol 2002;122:289-293.
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Authors
Panda NK, Jain R, Bakshi J, Munjal S.
Title
Audiologic disturbances in long-term mobile phone users.
Journal
J Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. (2010). 39(1):5-11.
Authors
Parazzini M, Bell S, Thuroczy G, Molnar F, et al.
Title
Influence on the mechanisms of generation of distortion product otoacoustic emissions
of mobile phone exposure.
Journal
Hear Res 2005;208:68-78.
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Authors
Parazzini M, Brazzale AR, Paglialonga P, Tognola G, et al.
Title
Effects of GSM cellular phones on human hearing: The European project “GUARD”.
Journal
Radiat Res 2007;168:608-613.
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Authors
Parazzini M, Sibella F, Lutman ME, Mishra S, Moulin A, Sliwinska-Kowalska M, Woznicka E, Politanski P, Zmyslony M, Thuroczy G, Molnár F, Kubinyi G, Tavartkiladze G, Bronyakin S, Uloziene I, Uloza V, Gradauskiene E, Ravazzani P.
Title
Effects of UMTS cellular phones on human hearing: Results of the European project “EMFnEAR”.
Journal
Radiat Res. (2009). 172(2):244-251.
Authors
Parazzini M, Lutman ME, Moulin A, Barnel C, Sliwinska-Kowalska M, Zmyslony M, Hernadi I, Stefanics G, Thuroczy G, Ravazzani P.
Title
Absence of Short-Term Effects of UMTS Exposure on the Human Auditory System.
Journal
Rad Research. Nov 18 2009 Ahead of print.
Author
Pau HW, Sievert U, Eggert S, Wild W.
Title
Can electromagnetic fields emitted by mobile phones stimulate
the vestibular organ?
Journal
Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2005;132:43-9.
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Author
Sievert U, Eggert S, Pau HW.
Title
Can mobile phone emissions affect auditory functions of cochlea
or brain stem?
Journal
Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2005;132:451-5.
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