Mobile phone users 'are twice as likely to develop tinnitus'

REGULAR use of a mobile phone for at least four years could result double the risk of developing chronic tinnitus, a new study has claimed.

Scientists believe that prolonged exposure to the microwave radiation generated by mobiles could be one of the causes of the rising occurrence of chronic tinnitus - a persistent ringing or buzzing in the ears.

While there are some obvious triggers such as ear disorders and head trauma, there are few known risk factors or clear explanations for its rise.

The high microwave energy produced by mobile phones during use has been suggested as a possible factor, but until now there has been no hard evidence to back this assertion.

Scientists at the Institute of Environmental Heath, Medical University of Vienna in Austria, compared 100 patients who needed treatment for chronic tinnitus - which is defined as lasting at least three months - with 100 randomly selected people without the disorder over a period of a year.

All participants were then asked about the type of phone they used, and where, as mobile phone output tends to be stronger in rural areas. They were also asked about the intensity and duration of calls, ear preference, and use of hand held devices.

Analysis of the results showed that the patients who had used a mobile before the onset of tinnitus were 37 per cent more likely to have the condition than those in the comparison group, while those who used their mobiles for an average of ten minutes a day were 71 per cent more likely to have the condition.

Most people used their phones on both ears, and those who had used a mobile for four years or more were twice as likely to have tinnitus compared with those in the comparison group.

The authors, whose results were published in the BMJ's Occupational and Environmental Health journal said: "It is unlikely the increased risk of tinnitus from prolonged mobile phone use obtained in this study is spurious."

They suggest that the most plausible explanation for a potential link between mobile phones and tinnitus as the cochlea and the auditory pathway absorb a considerable amount of energy emitted by a mobile.

Veronica Kennedy, professional advisor to the British Tinnitus Association said: "This is an interesting study but there are a number of complex factors underlying tinnitus which have not been addressed in the study."