Tamil Nadu

Lend an ear to what doctors say about cell phone

CHENNAI: The jury might yet be out on whether mobile phones pose long-term health hazards or not, but clearly, what ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialists are hearing these days is giving them cause for worry.

“Studies are yet to prove it conclusively, but we know that the radio frequency of mobile phones interferes with the functioning of the inner ear,” Mohan Kameswaran, managing director and ENT surgeon, MERF, says. The inner ear is what facilitates hearing. There are individual variations in susceptibility and cannot be predicted.

He says the number of cases has gone up over the years, and there are an average of four or five people every month queuing up at the clinic who report hearing problems, and strong circumstantial evidence points to excessive mobile usage. “It is possible that there are multiple factors involved, but certainly we have to address continuous mobile phone usage that is likely to endanger hearing,” Dr. Kameswaran says. There is an ongoing study, he adds, on the increasing risk of hearing loss among groups with higher mobile phone usage and when concluded, it will provide strong evidence. While there is not yet any hard data on the topic, it is an undisputed fact that hearing loss is caused by exposure to excess noise, Ravi Ramalingam of KKR ENT Hospital, says. “We have noticed that high-frequency hearing loss is caused by excessive mobile phone use. Here, mobiles are not only used for telephony but also for listening to music.” Parents have complained of children suffering from ear problems, after constantly using the mobile phone to talk and listen to music, he adds. There are some telltale signs that Dr. Kameswaran says we have to watch out for: “As you use a mobile phone, do you have a ‘hot ear,’ feel a tingling sensation and ringing around the ear, pain and discomfort.” This is the advanced stage of the disease, and even then, he assuages, it is not too late. “Go forthwith to the ENT and do tests even before hearing loss manifests itself,” he says. G. Sundhar Krishnan, Sr. Consultant ENT, Head and Neck Surgeon, Krishna Eye and ENT Clinic, says a lot of youngsters have been coming for help over the last year. Some of them have serious problems, including auditory nerve damage. “This is serious and not reversible, unless you come in the early stages, when medicines can be prescribed to help regeneration. .” What are the alternatives then? Landlines, obviously. Desist from having lengthy conversations, use an ear-piece/ Bluetooth device, alternate the ear, and keep the phone volume on minimum, specialists say. Dr. Ramalingam adds that even with Bluetooth and ear phones, care has to be taken to keep the volume low..

© Copyright 2000 - 2009 The Hindu