The custom of frequently using mobile phones may pose a threat on the mobile phone user’s ear. This may cause tinnitus according to a research conducted by Austrians. Tinnitus is a complication in the ear, which involves constant ringing or buzzing sounds.

The research conducted by Austrian medical experts involved 100 respondents with tinnitus and 100 respondents without the particular disease. The researchers also compared the mobile phone usage among the respondents.

Occupational and Environmental Medicine journal results showed that tinnitus was 70 percent more likely in respondents who average around 10 minutes of mobile phone call. Also, there is a 60 percent increased chance of acquiring tinnitus among mobile phone users who have accumulated a calling time of more than 160 hours.

However, the results were not so decisive according to the British Tinnitus Association since there were no significant links between the development of tinnitus and the usage of cell phones. The known causes for acquiring tinnitus are intense noise, head trauma, and certain drugs that target the ear.

According to researchers from the Medical University of Vienna, the evidence linking tinnitus acquisition to cell phones was sketchy. But, their small study has at least suggested and encouraged further studies to prove that cell phones indeed affect the acquisition of tinnitus. Furthermore, they wrote because of the rampant use of mobile phones, even a minor threat would be of “public health importance”, given that the complication in the ear could cause a major interference in the daily life of the affected.

The study also posed statistical anomalies as the results showed that there were respondents that made over 4,000 calls but still didn’t acquire tinnitus. Far worse, the respondents who had less calling time had the higher chance of acquiring tinnitus.

According to Veronica Kennedy, a consultant and adviser to the British Tinnitus Association, “The association between tinnitus and electromagnetic fields is not a new idea with electromagnetic fields being put forward both as a cause and treatment for tinnitus.

Some people have attributed their tinnitus to the sounds generated by electromagnetic fields within modern electrical wiring or power plants. This is an interesting study but there are a number of complex factors underlying tinnitus which have not been addressed in the study.”

Source: http://seerpress.com/mobile-phone-usage-may-contribute-to-the-acquisition-of-tinnitus/2805/